My Brother's Keeper
by jljj1996
Summary: Josh and his brother have always been together. Always. What happens when the two are separated not only from each other, but each other's dimension. Told from Josh's point of view, this series of tapes details his journey to find the Chaos Emeralds, as he faces incredible foes, makes unlikely friends, and learns what it really means to be a brother. Oh, and there's explosions.
1. Chapter 1

My Brother's Keeper

A Sonic and Real Life Crossover

by jljj1996

Chapter One

**Hey guys! It's my first fanfiction, so you'll have to tell me how I do. It's a Sonic and real world crossover (Is that a real crossover or what?) and I know it's overdone, but I think mine is somewhat original. I've already written a lot of it... I got really excited about the idea. However, I'm not going to post every single chapter right now. I will warn you, the first chapter is more backstory, so I'll post the first two chapters today... as well as possibly a few more. ;) Make sure you tell me what you think, as well as any factual errors you notice too! One last thing, all characters, objects, and location, aside from my two characters, are property of Sega. Let's get started!**

Is it on? Hello? Check, one two, one two. Can you hear me?

Okay, so it works. Awesome. Sorry, I just wanted to make sure, I just found this tape recorder in the basement, covered in dust. It was so old compared to technology here! I'm not even sure how it got here. Maybe Tails thought that... Nah, sorry, getting off topic.

Um... so I guess this is entry one. I, ah, guess I should introduce myself or something. Sorry, I've never really done this kind of thing before. I don't vlog, blog, Facebook, nothing. Sorry, off topic again.

Okay, introductions. My name is Josh. Er, Joshua Corey, but most people call me Josh. I'm 16 years old, blonde hair, blue eyes, 6 foot 3... is that important? S-Should I be including that? I dunno, I guess I should give you a feel for how I look. Yes, I am six feet tall. I'm tall for my age. Don't judge me.

I guess I'll start from the very beginning. Where I lived, who I lived with... what happened that day. That terrible, wonderful, fantastic, horrifying day.

Okay, so I'm not going to say exactly where we lived, except that it wasn't that much different from where you live probably. It was a smaller neighborhood, that was part of a big city. Me and my 13 year old brother, Jacob, lived in a red, two story house in a particularly quiet part of the neighborhood. We would have passed off as a rather normal family... except for the fact that me and Jacob were the WHOLE family. Our parents died in a shooting. Someone broke into our house. Our dad told us to get under the bed. We grabbed onto each other as tight as we could, shut our eyes, and waited for the sound to die down. The house went quiet. We stepped out to find our parents dead. Our house was robbed. Our lives were changed.

Me and my brother realized that if someone found out that our parents had died, we might not see each other again. The last thing we wanted was to be separated and put into foster care. We were our only family. I know it seems like an overreaction, and it was. But we weren't thinking that clearly at that point. We just wanted to be together.

So, in the year that followed, I got a job. I paid for all of our bills, all of our expenses, and only occasionally received help from our grandparents who lived close by. We made sure they didn't know we were living on our own. As the days went on, we became independent. We didn't want help. It was really cool to be living together, just the two of us. It was a dumb choice, I know. It was a hard life. But we grew really close. I think that made the choice worth it.

Then one day, something crazy weird happened. I was walking home from work (I don't have enough money to get a car) when I get this text on my phone. It was from Jacob. That wasn't too weird, Jacob usually texts me after I get off of work to ask me something, like if he could have ice cream, or if he could play one of his Sonic games. (Sorry, I should mention, Jacob loves Sonic the Hedgehog, and I will admit that I thought the games were pretty fun too. Jacob was the biggest fan of the two of us though.) I opened up my phone, and froze in my tracks. The text was only one word, written in all capital letters.

"HELP"

I dropped my phone and took off at a sprint. A normally 15 minute walk took about 5 minutes. But I was too late by then. He was gone. And the house was empty. Except for one thing. A note on the table. On it was a picture. A logo. An all too familiar logo. One word came to mind, and only one.

"Eggman?"

I wasn't sure what happened. Did someone kidnap my my brother under the guise of Eggman? Was Jacob just pulling a prank on me? Or... was it possible that... he was actually kidnapped... by...

No, it's not possible, I told myself. I reached for my phone to call the police... but it was, of course, gone. I felt dizzy. I leaned against a wall, as my legs gave up. I sat on the floor, staring into space, too shocked to even cry. My brother was gone. My only family was gone. I didn't know how to find him. I was shaken from my stupor by something... glowing. I crawled over to the spot and picked up the object. Another object I knew well. A glowing green Chaos Emerald. I threw the object across the room and got away from it. I didn't know why, but I was afraid of it. It brought bad news. It confirmed what I thought to believe was impossible. My little brother was gone. And not just lost, or kidnapped, but completely gone off the face of the Earth. My stomach dropped. He was gone. Gone forever.

I cried for a long time. Harder than I've ever cried before. I didn't know what else to do. How could I reach him? It's not like I could call him. Even if I had my phone, who knows how far away from Earth he was.

Then I heard something. Outside. A mechanical whirring. I slowly went to a window and looked out. My heart stopped.

Outside were three, portly, red robots with long pointy noses. Eggman robots. Why were they still here? They already took everything I loved! What more could they want? Me? I started feeling nervous. They took my brother. What harm would it cause to have one more human for Eggman's collection?

But why does he need humans? And if he needed two humans, couldn't he just take one of the neighbors? Why are they here again?

I slowly realized that they didn't need a human. I turned and looked at the glowing green emerald on the other side of the room. I knew enough about Eggman to know that he was always after the Chaos Emeralds. And I knew that Eggman should never have the Chaos Emeralds. I grabbed the Emerald and put it in my pocket. Then I grabbed the closest thing I could find to a weapon (a broom) and stood right next to the door, and waited for it to open.

The doorknob turned, and I got my broom ready. The door flew open, and I swung.

I might as well have tried to make a dent in a tree. Not only did the broom do absolutely nothing, it got the robot crazy mad. I barely had enough time to react before the brute knocked me to the ground and tied my arms and legs up. He reached into my pocket and took the Emerald. Then something hit my head, and the world went black.

End of Chapter One

**Scary ending huh? (I know, it isn't really...) Yeah, when I imagined this crossover, I didn't want it to follow the normal, "I go through a portal" or "I fell asleep, and when I woke up I was not home" type stories. I thought this was original. So, tell me what you think! Thanks guys! **


	2. Chapter 2

Paste you

Chapter Two

**Okay, so I've decided just to post all of the chapters I have now, and I'll edit them if you guys have any complaints about them. Well, let's get started!**

When I came to, it was still pretty dark. There was enough light to see that I was in a cell. Concrete floor, walls, and ceiling, steel bed on the side, and to top it all off, a wall of bars, just like a stereotypical prison cell should.

"Hello?!" I called out. "Can anyone hear me?"

"Josh?" A voice called out weakly.

I looked through the bars to the cell directly across the hall. A small figure was slumped against the wall on the other side.

"Jacob!" We both scurried to the bars and reached through. We were able to grab each others hands, but just barely.

"What happened?" I asked.

"I don't know!" He replied. "I was just at home, when all of these Eggman robots came charging into the house. I tried to hide and text you, but they got me too quickly."

"They locked onto the signal. Honestly, did you think that a robot I built wouldn't be able to do that?" A new voice said. A dark, gravely voice. One that we both recognized immediately. "Get back in your cells." Eggman said gruffly.

"Make us Eggbutt!" My brother yelled. I smiled a bit. That's my little brother for you. Brave as can be.

"You're not taking him from me again." I said.

"I beg to differ." Eggman replied. He suddenly whipped a small machine from his belt and pressed it against our hands. An electric shock coursed through both of our bodies, sending us flying to the back of our cells. Jacob landed on top of his bunk. I wasn't so lucky. My back slammed against the side causing me to lose my breath. I sat doubled over, coughing, as two robots dragged me out of the cell, and two more dragged Jacob out.

I was thrown into yet another cell, this one made entirely of glass. Jacob was strapped into the middle of a thin red ring, with his ankles and wrists tied to the outsides of it. We were in some sort of control room. Many strange machines beeped and whirred and whizzed, lights flashed on and off, and in the middle of the room were the seven Chaos Emeralds, all of them inserted into some sort of machine. The machine looked like some sort of column, but it was red, and almost completely covered with switches, lights, buttons, and monitors.

"What's this about Eggman?" Jacob growled as he tried to break free of his bonds.

"It's the future my boy, a future ruled by yours truly." He said proudly. He started to stroke his unusually large mustache. "You see, I have finally determined the core power of each Chaos Emerald, what makes them tick so to speak. They are run by pure emotion."

"You really didn't know that?" Jacob asked, rather bemusedly. "It's how Sonic and Shadow can do Chaos Control and Chaos Blast!"

"No. They use their emotions to harness the power." Eggman smiled. "But no one has truly known where they get their powers from. All of them were theories, or guesses. Some believed they've had it right for centuries, and many others have believed them. However, they were all wrong." Eggman leaned against the strange machine the Emeralds now rested in. "I have found out that each emerald draws it's power from the emotions of those around it. Around the world in fact. The red emerald is fueled by anger, the dark blue by sadness, the yellow by joy, the white by kindness, the pink by love, the lighter blue by normality, or rather, not feeling any of the other emotions."

I started counting to myself. "...Hey, aren't you missing one?" I asked. "There are seven aren't there? Didn't you forget the... ah..." I had a sudden flashback to the events that unfolded earlier on in the day. "The green one. You didn't have that one until you took me and my brother, didn't you?"

"An unfortunate set back. We didn't know that the Emerald had traveled to your Earth until our scanners picked up a strange energy from the far reaches of the galaxy. Lo and behold, there it was!"

"So why do you need us?" Jacob asked.

"I'm planning something." He replied, gracefully avoiding his main plot. "I'm giving the emeralds more energy by subjecting them to extreme cases of certain emotions. I've already received plenty of normality from my robots, and I've managed to find some extreme cases of sadness, joy, kindness, and love from a few... ahem... 'volunteers' I collected. That box you're in, as well as that ring your brother's in, allows me to collect those emotions and funnel them into the corresponding emerald. You're younger brother has already given me plenty of anger." He smirked, jerking his head towards Jacob, who simply glared back. Eggman crossed the room and stood behind Jacob. "Now all I need is one more. The green emerald." He pulled out his shocking machine again and shoved it into Jacob's back, causing him to scream violently. "Fear."

The shock seemed worse than a Taser! Jacob's back arched as if he were trying to escape the shock, but to no avail.

"JACOB!" I screamed! "Please, let him go, I'll do anything, just let him go!" I tried to feel any other emotion. Anger, sadness, anything! But all I could feel was a fear that he was going to kill my little brother.

Eggman laughed maniacally, as the green emerald started to glow. The Emeralds! Isn't there a way that you can pray to the Master Emerald for help or something? Yes, I think Knuckles did it! But was he the only one who could? I couldn't remember, but I had to at least try.

"Oh Master Emerald!" I pleaded as loudly as I can. "If you can hear me, please, help me and my brother!"

"Oh Master Emerald! Save me, save me!" Eggman mocked. "Please, there's nothing you can do!"

I carried on undeterred, staring at the Emeralds. "Please, you need to help us! HELP US!"

End of Chapter Two

**What do you think? Like I said, I didn't want this story to be the same as other stories. As far as I know, no other story has their main characters captured by Eggman at the very first of the story, and have them tortured... Too dark? Don't lose hope dear readers! Read on! Oh, and write a review if you want to, whether it be to critique my work, or to correct me on some sort of factual error. See you in the next chapter!**

r document here...


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

**Hey guys! I'll keep this short-**

**Josh: No offense, but you never do.**

**Jacob: Uh, question! Why am I the one being tortured?**

**...Because... Josh cares for you more?**

**Josh: No, he cares for me just the same.**

**Look, it's almost over, now quit whining you two.**

**Josh: …**

**Jacob: …**

**Okay, here we go.**

"Please Master Emerald, do something!" I didn't know exactly what I was doing. All I knew was that this was the last resort. My brother was being shocked to death by Dr. Eggman, and I was trapped in a glass box that sucked up my emotions and channeled it into the Chaos Emeralds. If all of this could happen, I didn't see why a giant magical rock couldn't come to my aid.

Suddenly, the green Emerald flew out of the machine it was resting in and broke through the glass box. It hovered in front of me, as if it were saying "Take me."

Eggman stopped shocking my brother. He looked shocked. "How did you- What happen- Wha- GET HIM!" He ordered to his robots.

I was quickly surrounded by robots of all kinds. Snakes, bees, fish, guys carrying signs, the works. Searching through my rather limited knowledge of the Sonic Universe, I grabbed the Emerald and yelled the first thing that came to mind.

"Chaos Blast!" I felt a surge of power flow through me, starting from inside, and quickly moving out. I closed my eyes and heard a mighty explosion. When I opened them, I found a pile of twisted metal around me. The box I was trapped in had been completely shattered, and the machine that held the Chaos Emeralds was in pieces. Eggman had somehow been caught up in the blast and looked dazed. Now was my chance. I quickly went over to the device my brother was strapped into, and got him out. He was weak, but alive, and he somehow escaped the blast.

"Josh, we need to grab the other Emeralds!" Jacob said weakly. I nodded and pick all of them up. The seven emeralds floated above my hand, slowly circling it. Then, for the second time that day, I had another great idea.

"Quick, hold out your hands!" I instructed Jacob. He did as he was told. The emeralds started to circle around the two of us. "Jacob, Chaos Control scatters the Emeralds and teleports their users right?"

"Yeah, why?" He asked.

"We might be able to use these to get back home... right?"

"Worth a shot!"

"Alright, on three!" We both grabbed hands and counted out loud.

"1... 2... 3, Chaos Contro-" Just before I could finish saying it, I was yanked away from my brother. I shielded my eyes as a bright flash filled the room with light. When the light died down, there was no trace of Jacob or the Emeralds.

"You've been a thorn in my side long enough you brat!" Eggman yelled as he pushed me towards a newly made hole in the wall. I must have made it when I used Chaos Blast. Eggman grabbed my shirt collar and dangled me over the side. I looked down. We were a long way up. At least 80 stories I figured.

"Y'know, for a portly man, you sure have a lot of strength." I said. I figured, as long as I'm going to die, I might as well have the last word.

Eggman simply scoffed and let go of me. The world seemed to slow down. I felt my life flash before my eyes. My birth. My parents. My brother. Jacob. I smiled, knowing that he was safe. Even if he wasn't back on Earth, he would be safe. Unless... he could have landed in quick sand. Or in a volcano! Or in the middle of the desert! The world started to speed up once again, as realization hit me. I need to live! I need to find Jacob! I started searching the ground for something to break my fall. But unless the concrete here was soft, I was doomed. I shut my eyes and braced for impact. I could feel the wind rushing past me, as my imminent death came faster and faster. I suddenly felt two pairs of arms, one under my back, and the other under my knees. Was someone trying to catch me? Yes! Someone was trying to save me!

I opened my eyes. We were moving off of the concrete and into a forest. We were moving very quickly too. Thoughts bombarded my head as we moved.

"Who saved me?"

"Where's my brother?"

"Why are we moving so fast?"

"What happened to my brother?"

"How am I still alive?"

"I need to stay alive."

"Where is Jacob?"

I was feeling weak, and drained. So much had happened in such little time, that it was too much to handle. I felt myself blacking out. A voice that seemed to me to be far off asked me something. I saw a pair of eyes look at me with concern. Then everything dimmed.

End of Chapter Three

**Now we're cooking!**

**Josh: What do you mean "we're cooking?!" A) My brother is who knows where, and B) I'm passing out like every five minutes! You call this good writing?!**

**Shush you. It's my story!**

**Josh: Y'know, I should be writing this. Then maybe none of this would happen.**

**But it makes things so interesting! Besides, something cool gets to happen to you soon!**

**Josh: ...Like what?**

**Ah, you're intrigued! You'll just have to see! It's coming up... but I won't tell you how soon.**

**Josh: ...Geez. It's like you don't want the good guys to win!**

**Heehee, I know! Don't feel afraid to write a review guys! Tell me what I need to do, any corrections I need to make, any places that don't make sense, etc. See you soon guys!**

**Josh: Bye!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

**Josh: Hi everyone! The author is a little busy right now, so I'm going to start this chapter off.**

**What? I'm not busy!**

**Josh: Be quiet. I read through this chapter. There's one part that I'm not happy with.**

**...The pajamas?**

**Josh: Yes. So I get to introduce the chapter.**

**Fair enough. Take it away.**

**Josh: Okay guys, this is where we start to see some friendlier faces. And where our little story starts to take off!**

**Our little story? You mean my little story!**

**Josh: Go away.**

**…**

**Josh: Hope you guys enjoy!**

I awoke this time in a much friendlier looking place. I was lying in a quaint little bed, with blue covers. The room itself was a sky blue, with a window on the right hand wall showing a beautiful day. I got out of bed and saw that I was in a pair of... pink pajamas. The top had a rather cute baby lion, and the bottom had the cute lion doing a variety of cute things, like chasing a butterfly, or picking flowers. Certainly nothing like the pajamas I would wear. I saw a note on the dresser next to my bed.

"Hey! Sorry about the pajamas, but the males around here don't exactly wear clothes. Come downstairs, I'll make you some breakfast! ~Amy" Next to it was a cutesy little heart. My stomach growled for some nourishment. I quickly obeyed the note and hurried downstairs.

True to her word, there was the pink hedgehog, in her trademark red skirt and red headband. Although, she was much taller than the video games made her out to be. She stood to my shoulder. Her face brightened when she saw me.

"Oh good, you're up! What would you like?" She asked cheerfully.

"Uh... eggs are fine." I replied, not entirely sure what to say.

"Coming right up!" She winked and headed towards the fridge. "How do you want them?"

"Scrambled please."

"Want some toast with that?"

"Yes please."

"Well aren't you polite!" She grabbed the egg carton, made her way to the stove, put a pan down, and turned on the heat.

"Thank you. That's very kind of you to say that." I nodded my head a bit. Amy smiled and sat down at the kitchen table. I took a look around the kitchen. It was a creamy yellow, with cabinets of a similar color, although the handles were red. A small window above the sink was covered by some yellow curtains with pictures of apples all across it. The rest of the kitchen was fairly standard, with a stove, fridge, sink, and a table which Amy gestured me to sit at. She pulled the chair out from next to her and patted the seat. I sat down and faced her.

"Okay, introductions," She said. "I'm Amy." She extended her hand a little. We were sitting close enough together that she really only needed to raise her hand up out of her lap.

"Yeah, I know who you are. I'm Josh." I shook her hand.

"How do you know who I am?" She asked, a puzzled look crossing her face. I explained the whole video game, television, and comic book situation to her. "Really? I've been on television?" She asked excitedly.

"Well, yeah." I said. "You're handling this a little better than I thought."

"Are you kidding?" She said, as she stood up to check the stove. "It's been my dream to have millions of people know me. You can't help but wonder how these Sega people know what we're doing though." She added thoughtfully as she cracked two eggs into the pan. "Is two okay?"

"Um..." My stomach rudely butted in as I was about to say yes.

"Three it is." She said, half laughing. She cracked one more and sat back down next to me. "Okay Josh, I hope you don't mind, but I have a few questions for you."

"How I got here?"

"That's one. Another one I'd like to know is why Eggman dropped you out of his base. But first, tell me a little about yourself."

"Well, I live with my little brother on Earth. His name's Jacob by the way."

"Oh, where's he? What's he like?"

"...Ah... well, we'll get to that." She nodded, and I continued on. "I'm 16 years, I'm going into the eleventh grade, and I work at a grocery store."

"What about your parents? What do they do?" I paused for a moment, wondering if I should tell her the truth.

"My parents... my parents are dead."

A silence fell across the room. Amy looked at me with sad eyes. It was a while before she found something to say.

"I'm so sorry, I-I didn't mean to-"

"Hey, it's okay, I'm over it now. What's done is done. I believe their in a better place now."

"So, who's been taking care of you two?" She asked, full of concern.

"No one. Me and Jacob feared that if someone found out, we could be separated when we went into foster care. So I got a job, and we've managed to scrape by for about a year now. Uh, Amy, the eggs?"

"Oh, right!" She jumped up and quickly tended to the eggs. "So, you've lived by yourself? That must have been hard!"

"We got by." I said with a shrug. "Actually, it brought me and my brother much closer than we ever were before..." I trailed off as my thoughts turned to my little brother.

"Josh... what happened to Jacob?" Amy asked cautiously. I took a deep breath and began to tell her the story.

"I just got off of work, when I get a text from him that said 'help.' I got home as fast as I could, but he was gone. All that was left was a Chaos Emerald."

"A Chaos Emerald?" Amy gasped. "On Earth?"

"Yeah. I'm not sure how it got there, but there it was. Then I looked outside and saw all of these robots. They kidnapped me and took the Emerald. They put me and Jacob in cells. When Eggman took us out, he hooked Jacob into this machine, and put me in a glass box. Eggman said he'd found a way to power up the Emeralds or something by channeling raw emotion into them. He said the only one he needed was fear. With that, he tortured Jacob-" My throat caught as I thought of his screams. I tried to keep the tears from flowing, but they came down anyways. "He tortured Jacob so he could get fear out of me. The only thing I could think of doing was to pray to the Master Emerald for help. And it did. It sent an emerald crashing through the glass. I used it to blow up the place. Me and Jacob gathered the other six and tried to use Chaos Control. Just before Chaos Control, Eggman grabbed me. Jacob and the Emeralds left, but I didn't. Then, he dropped me out of the tower and..." I wasn't quite sure what happened after that. "I guess someone saved me."

Amy put the plate of hot eggs in front of me, as I cried. She scooted her chair close to me and gave me a much needed hug. I cried into her shoulder for a bit. When I had calmed down quite a bit, I sat up and rubbed my eyes. Then my stomach growled. I glared at it, then grabbed a fork and started eating.

"Don't worry Josh." Amy said, giving my free hand a reassuring squeeze. "Jacob's fine! If you guys were using Chaos Control to get home, that's where he'll be now."

"Are you sure?" I asked between a mouthful of eggs.

"Positive! Chaos Control isn't random. It takes you where you want to go." Amy said. I breathed a sigh of relief. That was the best news I heard all day.

"Oh, shoot, I forgot the toast!" Amy said, flustered.

"It's fine." I said smiling, and laughing a bit. I was still a little sad, but I felt better now that I knew Jacob was home, safe. "So, now what? How can I get home?" I asked.

"I'm not really sure. But as for your first question, what we need to do now is get you some new clothes." She said.

"New clothes?"

"Your old ones were torn to shreds. Probably from when you blew up Eggman's control room." She said. "Here, I'll get you some temporary clothes, and then, we're going shopping." She added with a wink.

Great...

End of Chapter Four

**Josh: Hey, why are your chapters so short?!**

**Um... One part inspiration, One part laziness.**

**Josh: Inspiration? From who?**

**Robert Paterson! The author of the Maximum Ride series? His chapter's are short too!**

**Josh: You aren't Robert Paterson. Write longer chapters.**

**Well I already wrote a bunch of them!**

**Josh: How many?**

**...Seven.**

**Josh: ...Seriously?**

**Yeah.**

**Josh: Wow. Do the readers even like the short chapters?**

**I dunno, maybe! What do you guys think? Should I write short chapters, or longer chapters?**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

**Nothing much to say right now. Enjoy! =)**

Amy managed to find me a pair of gray sweats and a red hoodie to cover me until we could find some suitable clothes. Then, being as gentlemanly as I possibly could, I held the door open for Amy to reveal that we seemed to be nowhere near a shopping district... or anything for that matter. We seemed to be in a clearing in the middle of the forest.

"Uh, Amy? Where are we?" I asked, very confused.

"We're in the middle of the forest." She replied as if it were obvious. "The location was a great place to set up a base, as well as a garage for Tails." She motioned towards a much larger building than the house we just exited out of. While the house was a cheerful yellow color, the garage was more like a giant warehouse. The whole thing was made of concrete, with windows lining the walls every 10 feet. The place was huge! Amy headed towards the towering building, and, after standing in awe for a while, I quickly caught up to her and followed her in.

If I thought the outside was big, the inside looked even bigger. The place was filled with machines, robots, planes, vehicles, gadgets, gizmos, and everything else in between! This was a gear-head's paradise!

"Tails!" Amy called, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Are you in here?!"

"Yeah, I'll be down in just a sec!" The young fox replied from somewhere within the warehouse. I heard the sound of what sounded like small propellers, as the orange fox lifted into the air and headed in our direction. Tails settled down in front of us. Again, the video games didn't do his size justice, as he came up to just about my elbow, about eight inches shorter than Amy, and about a foot and a half shorter than me. He was still pretty short, but that was expected. I mean, he couldn't have been more than 12 years old! He was just about as tall as Jacob!

"Hey, looks like you're feeling better!" Tails said to me. I tried to hold in my excitement. Tails was, by far, one of my favorite characters! I just loved him, even more so than Sonic!

"Y-yeah, loads better! Thanks for asking!" I said, trying not to let my excitement show.

"Hey Tails, we need to go Downtown." Amy said. "Josh here needs some new clothes. Mind flying us over?"

"Yeah, no problem!" The fox replied, nodding. "I need to head down there anyways, I ran out of parts to fix the Tornado."

"The Tornado?" I asked, feeling giddy at the mention of the plane. "Ah... C-can I see it?"

Tails looked a little confused. "Yeah, sure. You seem excited... Do you know about it?"

"I'll explain later." I said.

After having a "fan girl" moment over the Tornado, we all hopped into a different plane (I wasn't sure what this one was called, but I thought it was on Sonic X or something.) and headed Downtown. I explained who I was, how I knew about the Tornado and everyone else, and my situation to Tails during the flight. I was just finishing up as we touched down in a huge city.

"...And so Jacob teleported home, I was dropped out of a tower, and I really don't remember much after that. Someone saved me obviously, but I don't really remember who..." I said, deep in thought. Tails smiled, his eyes full of sympathy.

"Don't worry, we'll get you home as soon as we can." He said reassuringly. "As for who saved you... well, you'll find out soon enough."

"Oh come on man, tell me!" I begged.

"Nope!" Tails said, closing his eyes and turning away as he crossed his arms across his chest. He opened one eye slightly as a mischievous grin crossed his face.

"You're so rude!" I laughed. "Well, you won't need to tell me anyway, I think I know who saved me!" I taunted back as I hopped out of the plane.

"Oh yeah? Who then?" Amy challenged.

"So you're on his side?" I asked.

"Yep. Who saved you?" Amy asked again.

Challenge Accepted.

"Hmm... well it can't be Shadow-"

"Or can it?" Tails interrupted.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Shadow can have his moments. He's not a total Jerk." Amy said, rolling her eyes a bit.

"Um... okay... I guess it... could have been Shadow... maybe..." I said, stalling for time as I tried to think of another person.

"Just face it Josh, you don't know!" Tails said, wagging his finger.

"Okay, fine, I don't." I admitted. "But will you tell me who?"

Tails shook his head. "I think it'll be more fun if you try to figure it out." He said.

Challenge Accepted... again.

"Fair deal. So, did one of you two save me?" The two shook their heads no. "...Wait, anyone could have saved me! Literally anyone! I mean, there are tons of people here, aren't there? At least give me a clue!"

Amy thought about it for a moment before finally saying, "It's someone we're friends with." She said, motioning to her and Tails.

"Noted." I said. "Now let's go see the city!"

End of Chapter Five

**Remember to review guys!**

**Josh: You know, if you write longer chapters, you can add more detail and story.**

**Get off of it!**

**Josh: No, I like messing with you!**

**Is it because I took you away from Jacob and made you wear pink pajamas?**

**Josh: Nah, Jacob's safe, and I'm over the pajamas. Like I said, it's fun to mess with you!**

**...So, you're not mad?**

**Josh: Not really. Make sure to review if you guys saw something he needs to correct!**

**...Hey, I need a name. I can't exactly call myself jljj1996, and I don't want to be referred to as "he" all the time.**

**Josh: ...contest?**

**Contest. Come up with a name for me! I'll pick my favorite name and refer to myself as that name from now on! Good luck guys!**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

**Chapter Six! Only this and one more short chapter... Unless you guys want more chapters that are short. Let's go!**

The best way to describe Downtown Mobius is to have you imagine the best of every major city in the world and putting them together. The place was so much bigger and better than anything we ever had on Earth! Just walking down the street made me feel like I was $1,000 richer! Of course, those $1,000 would be useless here, considering they have their own currency, but it's the thought that counts right?

"Hey Amy, I hate to complain, but a lot of people are staring at me." I said a little quietly.

Amy wave her hand dismissively. "Just ignore them, they've never seen a human before."

"What? But, wouldn't they have seen the humans when Mobius fused with Earth?" I asked.

"For some reason, only our friends got sent to Earth, and only the parts of Mobius we were attached to came with us." Tails answered.

"Hey that reminds me!" Amy said, putting her finger to her chin. "How come we never saw any of those Sonic games when we were on Earth? I mean, they should have been there if they are as old as you say."

"You never to came to my Earth. In fact, the people on my Earth don't think you exist!" I said.

"Oh... sad." Amy said a little quietly.

After we did a little window shopping, Amy pulled me into a store she liked, while Tails went to go find some parts. And so began my adventure into trying on clothes. Amy walked me through the store, showing me some outfits that she thought might look good. After trying on the 10th outfit, I came up with a suggestion.

"Uh, Amy, mind if I pick something out?" I asked.

"Oh, sure! Sorry, I kinda took over, didn't I?" She said.

"No, no, it's fine, I don't mind... it's just that... well..." I stepped out of the dressing room and showed her my outfit. "Pink isn't exactly my color..."

"Are you ready yet Josh?" Amy asked, a little impatient. She wasn't bored, she just wanted to see what I had picked out.

"Almost!" I called back. I did the finishing touches, and stepped out of the dressing room. Amy's mouth fell open.

"Wow!" She gasped! "Y'know, if I weren't totally head over heels for Sonic, I might say you look pretty hot!"

I had to admit, I agreed. I decided to go simple. I chose out a pair of black pants and a white dress shirt. To make it seem less formal, I rolled up the sleeves and left it untucked. The shoes I chose were gray, with a black stripe running along the sides.

"What do you think, too goth?" I asked, blushing a bit and sticking my hands sheepishly into my pockets.

"Nope, that looks really good!" Amy gushed. "That one we're definitely keeping!" She looked at the bundle of clothes in her hands, a good 9 outfits. "I think we have enough to fill your wardrobe. Come on, let's go pay!"

"Woah, wait!" I said. "You're not really going to pay for all of that, are you?" I asked, concerned.

"Well yeah! And don't you try to stop me! I know you know I've got a hammer, and I'm not afraid to use it." Amy turned and headed towards checkout. After a slight hesitation, I changed back into my sweats and hoodie and hurried out to catch up. By this time, she had finished paying.

"What happened to the last outfit? I wanted you to wear that out!" Amy whined.

"This one?" I said, holding up the dress shirt and black pants.

"Yeah, go put it on! No friend of mine is going to walk with me looking like that!" She demanded, motioning to my rather frumpy outfit.

"Okay, I'm going!" I said, turning around to go back to the dressing room. I stopped short as I realized what Amy just said. "...You... you consider me a... a friend?" I asked hesitantly.

"What else would you be?" Amy said, laughing a bit. "Of course you're my friend!"

The biggest smile I had ever had ran across my face. I quickly changed then walked with my new friend.

I had never had a friend before, at least, not one that lasted long. I more got friends out of sympathy votes, and even then, they never treated me like Amy did. She didn't treat me like a charity case, or something to feel sorry for. She acted genuinely kind to me. She joked with me, laughed with me, she even danced with me when a good song came on a nearby radio.

"Hey... I know this song!" I said as I heard the words!

"You do?" Amy asked, one eyebrow cocked up.

"Yeah! Well, it's not sung by the same person, but from where I'm from, the song's called Stronger, and it's sung by Kelly Clarkson!"

"Really?" Amy asked excitedly. "Are there any other songs you recognize?" I listened closely. While the songs were all sung by different people, the lyrics and the tune were the same! I recognized all of them!

"Teenage Dream, Whistle, Poker Face, Some Nights, I know all of these songs!" I exclaimed!

"I wonder how some of our songs got out into your world?" Amy pondered.

"Ah, I think you mean how our songs got into your world." I corrected her. "I'm pretty sure we made them first."

"Or they could have been made at the same time." Tails said, rejoining our group from out of nowhere. "It's possible that the artists could have made the songs at the same time. Music can be a little funny if you look at it closely."

"I can agree with that." I said nodding. "Music has the power to do a ton of things. That's why I love music. So, did you find the parts you need?" I asked Tails.

"Yep!" He said, patting a small bag in his hand. "And from the look of things, you got what you came for too!" He said motioning to all the bags of stuff I had set down earlier. Tails looked at the clothes I was wearing and smiled. "That looks pretty good! Did Amy pick that out?"

"Nope, all me!" I said proudly.

"I thought so." He replied. Then he lowered his voice. "Don't look now, but all of the girls are staring at you, and not because you're a human." As if on cue, a black cat passed in front of me, her tail wrapping around my arm. She wore a slimming red dress with red high heels.

"Hey, can I see you tonight?" She purred in my ear. I slowly brushed her tail off of my hand.

"I, ah, well, um, ah." I could only stammer. No girl has ever talked to me that way before. Out of the blue, Amy came and linked her arm with mine.

"Sorry, he's taken!" She said angrily. "Besides, isn't it bad luck to cross path's with you?" She added, placing her free hand on her hip. The black cat looked a bit embarrassed, and slunk away.

"Thank you." I said sheepishly.

"Oh, you poor guy." She said, kissing me on the cheek. "You need to talk to girls more."

Me, Amy, and Tails were just about to leave, when something stopped us in our tracks. In the middle of the park, a bunch of booths had been set up, and people were roaming around looking at something in each booth.

"What's going on over there?" I asked, trying to see what the people were looking at.

"Oh, it's the bazaar! Do you think we could take a quick look? They always have the cutest bracelets!" She said, clasping her hands together in front of her.

"I don't mind. Do you Tails?" I asked.

"Nope. I guess we're going shopping again." He said as the three of us walked towards the park.

End of Chapter Six

**Bye guys! Contest still on!**

**Josh: ...That's it? You don't have anything else to say?**

**Nope! Review and stuff!**

**Josh: What's the rush!?**

**I love the next chapter!**

**Josh: Okay, but why do you need to hur-**

**SHUT UP AND GO TO THE NEXT CHAPTER!**

**Josh: Alright! Fine! Geez...**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

**Okay! My favorite chapter! This is where I feel the story really starts to come together!**

For those of you who don't know, a bazaar is a gather of people who try to sell things that they've made. It can range from jewelry, to clothes, to food, and more. The three of us were bombarded with the sights, sounds, and smells of venders trying to sell their wares.

"Quilts for sale! Homemade quilts for sale!"

"Come get your fresh tamales! Fresh hot tamales!"

"Caricatures done! 15 minutes, 15 rings! Come get your caricatures done!"

There was everything! Literally everything! Someone was trying to sell bottled air! ("I wonder why no one's buying it?" Tails said sarcastically. We all laughed.)

Suddenly, a different voice made it's way through the chaos.

"Fortunes told! Pandora tells all!" The voice was female. It sounded African, authoritative, and somewhat mysterious. I turned towards the sound of the voice. In a smaller booth was a purple cheetah, with black spots. Her ears were adorned with large hoop earrings. She wore a top with small disks and jewels hanging from it, and a dress, also adorned with the disks and jewels. The top didn't reach the bottom, giving her clothes almost a bikini-like look. She wore a blue eyeliner, which only seemed to highlight her purple eyes. Eyes that were looking right at me. She continued yelling, as if she were still trying to attract customers.

"I see all, I know all! I can see into your past! I can view your present! And I can predict your futures!" Her eyes were hypnotic, and I felt myself walking towards her, as Amy and Tails continued on, distracted by the other sounds.

Pandora looked me up and down.

"Nice clothes. They are new, correct?"

"Y-yeah!" I said. "How did you know?"

"The tag's still attached to the sleeve." She said, as she leaned over her booth and pulled the tag off. I blushed a bit. She smiled at me. "Don't be embarrassed, it was never really noticeable anyways." She said in her thick African accent. "The white tag blended in with the white shirt."

"How'd you see it then?" I asked, still a little awestruck by her powers of observation.

"I see all. Now, are we going to talk about your clothes, or are we going to discuss your brother's fate." She asked. I froze.

"How do you know about my brother?" I asked.

"I know all." She answered simply.

"...I don't have any money." Pandora pulled out a small bag.

"Then consider this the Ask Auntie Pandora Hour. No charge." She dumped the contents out of the bag. They appeared to be bones of some kind. She closed her eyes and held her hands over the bones.

"There you are!" A hand grabbed my shoulder. Amy looked relieved. "We thought you were kidnapped again! Come on, let's go!"

"Wait." I turned towards Pandora. "She knows something about Jacob." Amy paused and let me go. After a while Pandora opened her eyes. I don't know how, but they turned yellow!

"Your brother is safe." She said. She no longer spoke with an African accent. She spoke in such a way that her voice seemed to echo. Her accent didn't seem to come from any existing language. "But he is not home."

"What? Where is he?" I almost yelled. Pandora didn't seem to hear me. She continued on.

"He is not in this world, but one like it. He is looking for you. But he is not alone. He is receiving help from a female of fire. He will soon receive help from another, a man with strange powers."

"Female of Fire? Does she mean Blaze?" Amy asked.

"It would make sense, especially if the man with strange powers is Silver." I said, focusing on the strange gypsy woman.

"To see him again, you must gather seven emeralds of unique power, as must he. If you find them, you will find your brother. When you find your brother, you will find home." She closed her eyes again. When she opened them up again, her normal purple eyes and African accent had returned. "That is all that is to be revealed for now." She swept up her bones into her bag.

"Wait, will I find him?" I asked. Pandora looked at me sadly.

"I am sorry. Your actual future is shrouded with a strange fog. I can only see the path you must take."

"Will he be okay?" I pleaded, "Is there something you can do to protect him?" Pandora sat quietly for a moment, then removed a necklace from underneath her booth.

"Take this. As long as you wear this, your brother will be protected." I held out my hand and took it.

"Thank you." I said. I hung the necklace around my neck. There wasn't much to it. A leather cord was looped through a small charm. The charm was a small, emerald green diamond, that was slightly translucent. I turned to leave, when Pandora stopped me.

"Wait!" She called. I turned back around. "What color were my eyes?"

"Um...Yellow." I said.

She pondered that a moment before going back to advertising her service.

Later

"So we need to find the Chaos Emeralds?" Tails asked. During our flight back, me and Amy told him about our run in with Pandora. I nodded.

"And Jacob needs to find the Sol Emeralds." Amy concluded. "He's lucky he's got Blaze's help."

"Hold on a sec." I said. "I thought you guys forgot about Blaze when Sonic and Silver changed the future."

Tails and Amy looked at each other. Tails turned back to me.

"Was that from one of the video games?" He asked.

"I thought..."

"Well, looks like Sega isn't totally right all the time." Amy said.

"No one can." Tails added. "So, what's our plan of attack here?"

"Let's try Angel Island. If anyone can tell us where the Emeralds are, Knuckles can." Amy said.

"Angel Island it is!" Tails declared. He took a sharp right, and headed off towards a large floating island way off in the distance. I turned and stared out the window.

"Don't worry Jacob." I thought. "We'll be together. Soon."

And that's how my story begins. I get some new friends and start on an adventure to reunite with my brother. Sound fun?

End of Chapter Seven

**All right guys! What did you think? A promising beginning? Too bland? Too short?**

**Josh: No, yes, and yes.**

**What? Why would you say that?! The story is about you!**

**Josh: Yeah, but you're writing it.**

**...Well, if you want me to write longer chapters, I totally will. And if no one's even reading this... well, I'll write longer chapters then too. Thanks guys!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

**People actually read my little story! That makes me so happy!**

**Josh: Tell the people who reviewed thank you!**

**Thank you!**

**Josh: Good. Now what took you so long?**

**What do you mean?**

**Josh: You didn't post anything for, like, three or four days!**

**I had work, and I won't post this on weekends. Weekends are me time.**

**Josh: ...Okay, fair enough.**

The plane touched down on Angel Island with a thud. I climbed out of the cockpit, helped Amy down, then stared at the top of a large temple. A large, green glowing stone rested at the top, and a relatively smaller figure lay on the steps in front of it. I saw the red echidna stand up and make his way down the stairs. Amy, Tails and I made our way up. We met about halfway. Knuckles crossed his arms when he saw who his visitors were. He was shorter than me, but only by about and inch.

"What do you guys want?" Knuckles asked, sounding a little annoyed.

"Well that's a great way to treat a friend!" Amy angrily replied.

"Who said you were my friend?" Knuckles yelled back. The two immediately started fighting as they so often did. Tails stood on the sidelines, watching helplessly. I, on the other hand, stared up at the Master Emerald. It occurred to me that I didn't thank it for helping me and Jacob escape Eggman yesterday. I checked to make sure Knuckles was still fighting, then made my way up the stairs.

The Master Emerald was a lot bigger than I thought it would be. It was at least 8 feet tall, and about the same wide. I slowly made my way up to the Emerald, and put my hand on it.

"Thank you." I bowed my head. "I don't know if I would still be alive if it weren't for you. Thank you so much." Suddenly, a power seemed to surge through my hand and travel up my body to my eyes. My vision clouded over. When it cleared, I saw my little brother... but from above, as if I were flying. Was it a vision? It had to be. Unless I'd learned to fly within the past five seconds. He was unconscious. And he looked beat up. ...Just like the way he was when he used Chaos Control. Was this a vision of the past? I saw a figure walking towards him out of the corner of my eye. Blaze. The purple feline knelt down next to my little brother and checked his pulse. She breathed a sigh of relief, probably because she found the heartbeat she was looking for. She picked him up and carried him away. The scene blurred and changed to show Jacob lying in a bed with Blaze sitting on a stool next to it. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but Jacob was crying. Blaze seemed to be holding back some tears as well, and was squeezing his hand. She leaned forward and hugged him. I realized that she was taller than him, because she was able to put her head on top of his. She gently stroked the back of his head, as if to calm him down. I was near tears myself as the scene changed again. He and Blaze were walking down a street, when a hooded figure beckoned them towards him. The two tried to wave him off, until something he said got there attention. The hood suddenly had two bright yellow eyes shining from the darkness. This lasted for a while as the two sat in shock. When his eyes dimmed, he handed Jacob a small necklace, with a blue diamond hanging from it. Jacob looked hopeful, and Blaze smiled and beckoned him to follow her. The vision changed once more to show Blaze and Jacob catching up to Silver. Blaze started talking to Silver, as Jacob started to wander around. Jacob looked in my direction and stopped, as if he saw me. But before I could react, I felt myself being yanked away from the vision.

"What are you doing?" Knuckles yelled angrily. I was literally yanked away apparently, as he had a hold on my shirt collar.

"I-I'm sorry, I just came up here to say thank you an-"

"Let him go Knuckles, he's with us!" Amy said angrily. "Besides, what would he do with the Master Emerald? He can't exactly walk off with it!" Knuckles glared at Amy for a bit before shoving me away. He crossed his arms and glared at her. I rubbed my neck and looked at the ground.

"...Sorry. I should have asked for your permission. I know how seriously you take your job." I said. Knuckles looked surprised and turned to me. His face softened, and he let his arms drop to his side.

"Why were you touching the Master Emerald?" He asked, this time using a much kinder tone.

"It saved me and my brother. We were kidnapped by Eggman..."

I told him about what happened to me and my brother, once again bringing myself to the verge of tears.

"And then Eggman dropped you out of a tower." Knuckles finished.

"Yeah, how'd you know? Did you catch me?" I asked. Knuckles shook his head no.

"I was there when you were dropped. You were too far away for me to catch you in time though." Knuckles answered.

"But you know who saved me? Will you tell me?" I asked excitedly.

"Uh, no, he won't!" Amy said, planting her hands on her hips. "Nice try though."

"Why can't I tell him?" Knuckles asked Amy, seeming a little angry.

"We want him to try and figure it out for himself." Amy answered back. "He'll find out soon enough, don't you think?"

Knuckles thought about this for a moment before nodding his head.

"It's still pretty mean." He added.

"That's what I keep telling them!" I exclaimed.

Amy and Tails snickered, and a small smile crept onto Knuckles' face.

"So, getting back to the topic, you were touching the Master Emerald so you could thank it?" Knuckles asked, covering his mouth so as to not let his smile show.

"Yeah... then something weird happened." I said, thinking back.

"Weird?" Knuckles questioned, tilting his head a bit.

"I had a vision or something. I saw Jacob." I smiled. He was safe. He was in good hands.

Knuckles stood in thought for a moment. His face suddenly turned into one of shock.

"What is THAT?" He yelled, pointing to my hand. I looked down to see that my right hand was **glowing**! Everyone backed away as if I were contagious. I held my hand away from my body, staring at it in horror. To my relief, the glow quickly faded, leaving behind it a gift. On my index finger, a small, clear ring now rested.

"A gift from the Master Emerald." Knuckles said in awe.

"A ring?" I asked, looking at Knuckles. "Why did it give me a ring?" Knuckles shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess you'll have to find out." Knuckles said. I admired the ring for a moment more before remembering the reason we were here in the first place.

"Oh, Knuckles, do you know where the Chaos Emeralds are now?" I asked.

"No. Sorry." He gave me a sad smile. "But if there's any way I can help, let me know."

"Thank you." I nodded and smiled.

Later

"Well that was helpful." Amy said sarcastically as she stared out the window of the plane.

"I'm just glad to learn that Jacob's safe." I replied, admiring my new accessory. "Hey, look, this thing changes color in the light!" I said. I slowly swung my wrist from side to side, as the ring went from red, to green, then to yellow. "That's kinda cool!" I held up my hand to the light to admire the ring better.

"Hey Tails, are you hungry? I was thinking it was about time to head to dinner." Amy asked.

"Nah, I'm good. I'll drop you off at Station Central again. Call me when you get done!"

"Where's Station Central?" I asked.

"It's where we got your clothes." Amy told me.

Oh. So it's not Downtown Mobius. Good to know.

"Amy, please, you don't need to buy me dinner." I said. "You've already bought me enough! You've spent too much money on me!"

"Josh, I don't mind! Honest!" Amy said, smiling at me. "It's sweet of you to say that though!"

"Amy, you're making me feel bad. How does one make money around here?" I demanded.

"It's fine Josh!"

"Tell me!" I said, pointing at her. "I won't stop pestering you about it until you do."

"...I won't win this one, will I?"

"Nope."

Amy sighed, then smiled.

"Take us down Tails."

…...

Me and Amy were in the wooded area close to the base. She had given me a pair of contacts. After some minor discomfort, I got used to them.

"These will let you see the Rings." Amy explained.

"Excuse me? I can see my ring without these!" I said, obviously confused.

"No, not that kind of ring. That kind." She said, pointing to a golden Ring.

"Oh, I see. Wait, so these Rings are really scattered throughout the land? That wasn't just some sort of health gimmick Sega came up with?"

"Nope!" Amy went over to the ring. Upon making contact, it disappeared.

"Cool!" I started going over to rings in the surrounding area. "So, this is how you make money? I don't see how this works... How has the economy not collapsed here?" I asked. Amy shrugged. I decided not to think too hard about it. "So, you guys just walk around and collect them?"

"Yep. It's nice, I can go out for my morning run, and I get paid for doing it!" She went over to me. "You be careful now, okay? Don't stay out too long." I nodded. She smiled, then headed back to base.

I headed off, following a trail of rings that led deeper into the forest.

…...

The landscape was beautiful. Better than anything we ever had on Earth! The trees were impossibly green! The flowers were beautiful! The animals were even friendly! (I always found that weird. I mean, you have all of these walking, talking animals, and yet the woods still had normal animals as well.) I kept following the rings towards a small clearing. I sat down on a rock in the middle, and closed my eyes. The forest was so peaceful. I heard birds chirp. I heard the wind blow. I heard the forest critters doing... whatever forest critters do. I felt something brush past my leg. I opened my eyes. Nothing there.

"Must have run off." I said aloud.

"You wish." A deep voice said from behind. I nearly fell off of the rock! Behind me was the biggest, purple, robotic snake I had ever seen! (Well, the only one I had ever seen.) I stared in horror for a few seconds, then started to turn and run off. The snake slithered and stopped in front of me.

"What, leaving so soon?" It asked. An evil smile spread across it's face. "You must stay for dinner." It said, as it quickly wrapped its tail around me. It started squeezing. Hard. I struggled against the tightening coils.

"Come on, let me go!" I cried, trying to break free.

"Hmm, let me think... NO!" It squeezed me tighter. A surge of pain shot through my body. I screamed out, while the snake simply laughed.

"S-Someone help me!" I cried out to the forest.

"No one can hear you! We're in the middle of the forest you twit!" The snake cackled.

"Are you sure about that?"

Something suddenly shot through the robot, causing it to blow up, and send me sky high.

Very sky high.

I gave out a scream. My second time falling that week. Had to be some kind of record. The familiar sensation of impending doom returned, as the ground came faster and faster. I shut my eyes. It felt like everything was on replay. I could even feel the pair of arms catching me. ...Wait, what?

Someone was catching me! I remembered what happened as I fell off of Eggman Tower. The arms were the same! The person who saved me! Saving me again! What are the odds.

I was put down.

"Don't say anything!" I said, keeping my back to my savior. "I want to see if I can guess who you are." I was answered with silence. "...Sonic?" I turned around.

"Good to see you're okay!" He answered, smiling.

End of Chapter Eight

**Tada! Longer chapter, just for you guys!**

**Josh: See, was that so bad?**

**Yes.**

**Josh: …**

**Don't forget to R&R guys! ...Hmm... I'm need to change the summary to something more exciting...**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

**VioletAssassin, you're too sweet! Yes, I'm excited for Sonic too!**

**Josh: ****You're**** excited?! This guy freakin' saved me! TWICE! I'm glad to finally meet him!**

**...Yes, well, anyways.**

** .5, I'm writing more! Just for you! ...And... well, everybody else who's reading this, but mostly for you! ;D**

**Josh: Quit flirting!**

**Who says I'm flirting?**

**Josh: Well, the wink at the end isn't making me any less suspicious. How do you even know Booboo's a girl?**

**Well, in the way she acts and writes! Plus, no guy I know asks me to "pwease" right a story. That's a girls only move.**

**Josh: ...Did the internet tell you that.**

**Yes.**

**Josh: Oh boy... okay, come here, you and me are going to have a little talk.**

Sonic the Hedgehog?! The Sonic the Hedgehog is talking to me? Look, I don't care who your favorite character is, when Sonic the Hedgehog is talking right to you, you can't help but feel giddy!

"Dude, are you okay? You don't look to good..." Sonic asked, walking towards me.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." I managed to stammer. "It's just really nice to meet you. It's not everyday you not only get to meet, but get saved twice by someone you've almost idolized since you were six." Yes, Tails was my favorite character, but I never really considered Sonic a character. He was more like a big brother to me, and we would even hold imaginary conversations! (Which scared the heck out of my parents for a while. They thought we were having a Poltergeist moment.) So, naturally, I was way more excited to see him.

"Idolized?" Sonic asked, looking a bit scared.

"Uh, let me explain..." I sat down on the rock I was just sitting at and motioned for him to sit next to me. He obeyed.

"So, any place you want me to start specifically? When I fell out of the tower, what I was doing in it?" I asked.

"Just from the beginning. Like, who are you exactly?" Sonic answered.

"Oh, that far back. Well, I'm Joshua, but you can call me Josh. I've lived alone with my little brother Jacob for about a year now. Our parents died in a shooting about... what day is it today?"

"Uh..." Sonic looked a bit dazed at the news that our parents were dead. "It's the 22nd I think." I went quiet.

"...This is the anniversary of the shooting..." I said. I started to cry a bit. "S-sorry. I usually do pretty well with their death. I just remember that they're somewhere better... but today is... well it's hard." I laughed a bit. "Shoot, I shouldn't be crying, there's still a lot of story to go through."

"Hey, let it out. From the looks of things, you've been holding it in for a bit." Sonic looked at me with sympathy and compassion. "Just take your time."

"No, no, I'm fine. I did my crying a while ago. I'll cry later, maybe tonight. I don't want to trouble you or whatever." I said, wiping my eyes, laughing a bit as I went.

"It wouldn't be any trouble to me." Sonic said, giving a bit of a smile.

"Thank you, that's kind. No, I'm okay. Phew." I let out a sigh to calm me down. "Y'know, I'll be crying again really soon. ...Hey, I thought you didn't like tears."

"Yeah, but I can tell when it's needed. How'd you know that?"

"I'll explain after the sob story, it'll give us something to laugh at afterwords."

Sonic nodded, then motioned for me to continue.

After taking some more deep breaths, I continued my sad tale.

"Well, it was after work. I was going home, when I get this text from my thirteen year old brother Jacob. And that was pretty normal, he usually wants to eat ice cream or something to that effect. I look at the text, and all it said was 'help' in big capital letters. I ran home, but by then, he was gone. All that was left was a note with Eggman's logo on it, and the green Chaos Emerald. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't call him, text him, yell for him. I was sunk. Then the robots came. They took the Emerald and knocked me out. I awoke in a cell, and right across from my cell was another one. I could see Jacob in the back. He looked so scared, and weak, a-and-" I stopped for a moment to choke back a sob. I calmed down a little bit before I continued. "Eggman dragged us into a big control room. He put me in a glass box, and he strapped Jacob in the middle of this red ring. He explained a part of his plot, although I think there was more. He said that he had found a way to power up each Chaos Emerald with emotion. He said he had every one of them except for anger, from the red emerald, and fear from the green emerald. Well, knowing Jacob, he of course supplied plenty of anger. Eggman somehow figured out how to channel the emotions through the ring Jacob was in into the Emeralds. The box I was in did the same thing. Anyways, all he needed now was fear, so he decided to get it from me."

"What did he do to you?" Sonic asked, clenching his fists.

"Nothing, he did nothing to me, but he-" Already in a fragile state, this time I couldn't hold back the tears and sobs. "He t-tried to kill my br-brother." His tortured scream seemed to echo across the land, rocketing through time, just to remind me of that horrifying moment. I covered my head, not bearing to be able to stand the scream, but I could still hear it. It was deafening. I squeezed my eyes shut and bent over. I felt like I was in pain. But it did little, it almost made everything worse. With my eyes closed, the scene played like a projector on my eyelids. I could see his back arch, his face contorted in agony, the shocks as they pressed into his back. It was too much to take. Then a pair of hands gently took my shoulders and sat me back up, pulling me away from the scene. I opened my eyes and turned to Sonic, who looked at me with sad eyes. I was sobbing uncontrollably, my eyes were probably really puffy, and I just looked like a mess, and felt even worse. I didn't really have control over what happened next. I looked at this person, this amazing person that I looked up to, who I considered a big brother... I lept at him, hugged him, and cried. After a moment of surprise, he returned the hug. Now, I know what you're thinking. Awkward. But, honestly, it wasn't. It wasn't romantic in any way, it was more like a hug you would give to a crying sibling of your own. It felt... like my dad a bit. I cried for a while longer, before Sonic sat me back up. I dried my eyes, taking deep calming breaths.

"S-sorry about your shoulder." I apologized, motioning to his now tear soaked fur.

"Don't worry about it. Do you want to stop, or can you keep going?" Sonic asked me, his voice full of concern. "If you want to stop, by all means."

"No, I need to finish, I'm not even at the good part yet." I said, blinking to try to get used to the light again. "Um, where was I?"

"Eggman was getting you to show fear."

"Right. Okay, so, he got what he was looking for. I was really afraid that he was going to kill my brother. So I tried something crazy. I started praying to the Master Emerald. Just then, the green emerald that I was fueling came crashing through the glass. I used Chaos Blast to blow up the control room and grab Jacob. Just before we were able to use Chaos Control, Eggman grabbed me. Jacob was teleported to... wherever Blaze and Silver live, and I was dropped out of a tower. Then you caught me." I finished. I had finished crying, thankfully, and I now looked at Sonic with a smile on my face. "Now to answer your question of how I know so much about you."

Time Skip

"What? You're kidding!" Sonic said, looking wide eyed at me. We were walking back to base, picking up any rings we could find along the way.

"It's true, there are a ton of fans out there who really want to see you and Amy together. Well, you and Amy, as well as Shadow, Silver-"

"Okay I get it!" Sonic interrupted. We both shivered a bit, as I thought back to, and he imagined, all of the fanfiction that involved him getting... _romantic_. "You would never write that kind of stuff right?" Sonic asked me.

"I dunno, I might have dabble- there's one." I picked up the ring. "Jacob would be the more likely of the two of us. But I promise you, neither of us would pair you with someone romantically." I said, raising my right arm as if I were swearing on the Bible. Sonic looked relieved. "...Um... what happened back at the rock... when I hugged you... was that romantic?" I asked, a bit nervous. I hoped he would say no.

"Did you consider it romantic?" Sonic asked me, laughing a bit.

"No." I answered.

"I didn't either. Friends hug every now and then, it's the fact of life. Although, from what you told me, I'm more along the lines of a 'big brother' to you." Sonic said.

"...Do you mind?" I asked, a little embarrassed.

"No, not at all, as long as you don't mind if I do _this_!" He said, as he pushed me to the side. I pushed him back before he put his arm around my neck and gave me a noogie. I tried to push him off, but I was laughing to hard at that point to really care. Sonic let go of me and mussed up my hair a bit. I brushed his hand off and smoothed it out. I felt happy. Absolutely, unexplainably, verging on psychotic happy. I had a big brother... well, so to speak.

"I still won't get over the fact that I'm as tall as my big brother though. Geez man, I thought I would never find someone else who's six foot three!" I said.

"Six foot three? Take off three feet and you got me on the dot!" Sonic replied.

"...say what?"

"Yeah, I hate to say it man, but somehow, you've shrunk!" Sonic said with a shrug. I shrugged back.

"Could be worse, right?" I said. We both laughed a bit.

"Sonic?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

"No problem bud." He said, patting my shoulder. I smiled at Sonic, before picking up a ring that was right in front of him. I smiled mischievously before racing off to collect more. Sonic chuckled and shook his head a bit before racing off after me.

End of Chapter Nine

**Well that was fun to write.**

**Josh: Finally, a chapter you actually did a good job on!**

**Sonic: Hey, go easy on him, at least he's actually writing about you!**

**Thank you Sonic!**

**Josh: What?! Don't side with him!**

**Sonic: I'm not taking sides, I'm just stating the facts. I will say, he could be a lot nicer to you Josh.**

**Josh: See, someone agrees!**

**Uh, be sure to R&R guys! See you later!**


	10. Chapter 10 Special

Chapter 10 Special

"Okay guys, it's late, so I'm going to stop. End of entry one."

Josh set down the recorder and stared out his window at the night sky.

"It's funny," he thought, "The sky still looks the same, no matter where you are. Maybe Earth and Mobius aren't so far away." He checked his watch. 10:40. Twenty more minutes. He sighed and pulled out his wallet. He opened it and took out a photo.

"Hey guys." Josh said, as a tear slipped out. It fell and hit the photo, a picture of him and his brother, hugging a man with graying hair, and a woman with blonde hair. "Everything's going pretty well down here. Well... relatively speaking." I laughed a bit. "Who woulda thought that I would be here! Remember all those years you thought I was crazy? Who's laughing now?" He laughed again. The room went quiet as he thought of that night...

…...

"Come on guys, time for bed!" Mrs. Corey yelled.

"Oh come on Mom, ten more minutes! I've got Jacob on the ropes!" Josh yelled back.

"Yeah right. Ooh, what's that?" Jacob asked, pointing at the screen.

"What?" Josh squinted at the screen.

Giant explosion.

"That." Jacob said, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms.

"Never mind Mom, we're coming!" Josh yelled, rolling his eyes.

"Nice job Jacob!" She called back.

"Thanks Mom!"

"Okay, good night guys!" Mr. Corey told his boys.

"Night Dad!" They called back, hugging each side of him.

"Love you Mom." Josh said, going over to his Mom and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Night buddy." She said, giving him and Jacob a hug.

"Hey, did you hear that?" Jacob suddenly asked.

"Hear what?" Dad asked.

"It sounded like something glass broke."

Then the rest of the family heard something too. Footsteps. Coming from above them.

"...Boys, get under the bed. You too honey." Dad said quietly. Mom went over and linked her arm in his.

"I'm not going anywhere." Mom looked into Dad's eyes and smiled. Dad nodded. "Boys," Mom looked at her two babies. "Get under the bed. Don't come out until we say it's okay. We'll be fine." She and Dad gave a smile, then slowly snuck up the stairs. Josh and Jacob scrambled under the bed. The house was quiet, except for the footsteps upstairs, and quiet set of footsteps traveling up the stairs. There was a muffled sound of exclamation. Then a sound that made the two boy's blood run cold.

A gunshot.

A scream.

And two thuds.

The two boys sat wide eyed. Jacob started to go hysterical.

"No no, shhhh!" Josh tried to calm his brother. "It's okay! Don't jump to conclusions."

"He shot Mom and Dad!" Jacob almost screamed. Josh quickly covered his mouth.

"No, he didn't, it's fine! That was probably Dad shoo-" The two both suddenly heard heavy footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Josh he's coming to kill us!" Jacob whispered.

"No, shh, it's okay!" Josh said, stroking Jacob's hair, smiling, in an attempt to try to hide the fear on his face. face. "It's probably Mom and Dad right now! Here, just close your eyes, everything will be over soon." Jacob nodded slowly and shut his eyes. Josh pulled him closer to and stroked his head. Josh watched as he could see the pair of feet slowly enter the room. Jacob whimpered a bit. Josh gave him a reassuring squeeze, and stroked his head a bit more. The feet stopped and moved towards the bed. Josh sqeezed his eyes shut and held Jacob close to him.

A minute passed.

Ten minutes.

Twenty.

Then the footsteps finally left. The brothers heard the front door open and shut.

The brother's cautiously climbed the stairs. Everything was gone. The television. The scrapbooks their mother spent so much time on. Everything.

"Josh..." Jacob said quietly. Josh turned to look at what Jacob was pointing at. Two bodies. Josh turned away, and silently cried. He crossed his arms. He looked at the ground and saw a family photo they had taken two months ago, slightly hanging out of its broken frame. Josh picked it up and tucked it into his wallet.

"What do we do now Josh?" Jacob asked through sobs. Josh turned towards his brother. He walked over and hugged his brother.

"We carry on." Josh said quietly. "No matter what happens, we'll always have each other. I promise. No matter what, I will always be there for you."

…...

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his door opening.

"Can I come in?" Josh turned to look at the doorway.

"Sonic..." Josh smiled and nodded. Sonic sat on the bed next to Josh.

"What's with the tape recorder?" Sonic asked.

"Thought I would chronicle my time here." Josh replied. He gave the recorder to Sonic. "Here, knock yourself out." Josh said, returning his gaze to the photo. Sonic set the recorder next to him.

"That your parents?" Sonic asked, looking at the picture.

"Yep..." Josh checked his watch again. 10:55.

Sonic put his arm around Josh.

"I'm here for you. We all are." Sonic said, smiling a bit.

"All?"

Someone knocked on the door. Josh turned to see Amy and Tails standing at the door.

"Hey." Amy said. She crossed the room and set next to Josh. Tail went to the foot of the bed and leaned against the pole. Josh smiled and checked his watch.

11:00.

"Thank you guys." Josh closed his eyes. "Thank you."

…...

Amy softly shut the door behind her.

"Is he asleep?" Sonic looked worriedly at the door.

"Yes." Amy nodded, the looked back at the door. Sonic sighed and ran his hands through his quills.

"What am I going to do?" Sonic asked. "He wants me to be his big brother! That... that scares me."

"What's so scary about it?" Tails asked. He sat down at the table. "You took me in. I consider you a big brother, and you were fine with it."

"Not to be rude, but you didn't have your parents killed, and your little brother tortured and taken from you." Sonic pointed out.

"True." Tails shrugged.

"Come on Sonic," Amy sat Sonic down at the table and sat next to him. "What are you so afraid of?"

"What if I let him down, or I'm not everything he thinks I'm cracked up to be? He'll be miserable." Sonic put his his face in his hands.

"Just be yourself." Amy said reassuringly. She wanted to reach out and grab his hand, but she figured now wasn't the time to get her charm on. "Even if you aren't what he thinks, he'll appreciate that you're there for him. You'll be fine." Sonic smiled and looked at Amy.

"Thanks Amy. I hope you're right." Sonic said worriedly. Amy reached over and hugged him, which he returned.

"I know I'm right." She said. She squeezed him tighter.

"...Uh, Amy?"

"Just a little longer."

End of Chapter Ten


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

**Josh: Where have you been?!**

**Sorry, I've been super busy for the past couple of days!**

**Josh: Excuses Excuses! So, what, only two chapters this week?!**

**...yeah.**

**Josh: Figures. Will you write over the weekend?**

**No. I'll be gone. And weekends are me time remember.**

**Josh: Yeah, and so are the other six days of the week apparently.**

**...Oooh, what's this shiny "backspace" button do to the word "Josh?"**

**Josh: O.o**

Hey guys, this is Entry 2. It's been awhile since the first one, but it's been pretty crazy. I haven't really been able to pick this up for a while. Let's start from where we left off...

So, after me and Sonic got home, I had a really nice night. I thought that the anniversary would be really sad... but it made me realize how great my new friends are. I woke up the next morning feeling great. I went downstairs. Sonic and Tails were at the table talking, and Amy was making breakfast. I sniffed the air. Mmmm... pancakes.

"Smells great Amy!" I said as I walked in.

"Oh, good morning Josh!" Amy said. I made my way to the table. Sonic grabbed my shoulder and looked me in the eye.

"You okay?" He asked me quietly.

"Thanks to you guys." I said nodding. Sonic smiled and mussed up my hair a bit.

…...

"Mmm... Amy, you've done it again!" I said, taking another delicious mouthful of breakfast.

"Don't I always?" She said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Plenty more if you want em!"

"Sonic, aren't you eating?" I asked. The hedgehog sat back in his chair and put his hands behind his head.

"I already ate." He replied.

"He really doesn't have a set 'eating' schedule." Amy explained.

"Oh yeah, I remember reading about that somewhere." I thought back to my Earth days. "...Maybe Jacob told me... Eh, I'll remember later." I went back to my breakfast.

"Are you sure you don't want some Sonic?" Tails asked. "They're really good."

"...Maybe one." Sonic reached over, grabbed a pancake, and started eating.

"Sonic! At least use a fork or something!" Amy said, somewhat disgusted. I laughed as I took my plate to the sink. Sonic finished off his second breakfast, then stood up.

"Come on Josh, you're coming with me today." Sonic said.

"Uh, okay. Like, now?" I asked, putting on a pair of shoes.

"Now." Sonic was already walking out the door.

"Oh, now, okay, bye guys!" I said, rushing to catch up to Sonic.

Amy and Tails didn't have time to react before Sonic pulled me out the door and sped off with me in tow.

…...

"S-s-o-o-o-o-n-n-i-i-i-i-c-c! S-s-l-l-o-o-o-o-w-w d-d-o-o-o-o-w-w-w-w-n-n!" We were whipping through the forest at what I assumed to be the speed of sound. Seriously, better than any roller coaster, ever. I felt like my cheeks were stretching to my ears! I had never felt G-Force quite that powerful before!

"What's that? You want me to go faster?" Sonic yelled back, smirking at me. He had a firm grip on my wrist, and was tugging me along. I was trying hard to have my feet make some contact with the ground. Not very easy to do.

We finally came to a stop in a flowery meadow. I would have made a witty remark about how I never saw Sonic as a marigold kind of guy, but I really couldn't feel my face yet.

"Cream, ya here!?" Sonic yelled into the meadow!

"Over here Mr. Sonic!" A small voice called from the distance.

"Come on Josh!" Sonic grabbed my wrist once again, and ran off with me in tow... again.

We quickly found the small bunny and her blue Chao.

"S...Sonic... why are we here?" I said, somewhat slurred, because my face was still trying to recover.

"Just a quick stop. Cream said she had something to tell you." Sonic stood off to the side, as Cream ran up to me.

"Hello there!" Cream smiled, as Cheese... I dunno, made Cheese noises.

"Oh, hi there!" I said, just noticing the small rabbit. My eyes were a little weak too. It happens when you have a strong wind in your face. She was pretty small. The size of a six year old maybe.

"Um... are you feeling okay?" Cream looked at me with a concerned face.

"Yeah, I'm fine, why?"

"Your face..."

"Oh, don't mind it. It happens the first time you decide to go for a run with him." I said, jerking my thumb towards Sonic. ...What did my face look like? It must have been pretty weird if the polite bunny needed to point it out.

"I see. Well, when your face is normal, it looks nice!" She smiled again, putting her hands behind her back. "Sorry if this is bothering you, but I just had something I wanted to give you."

"For me? Cream, you don't have to do that." I said, smiling at the bunny.

"Actually, I think I do. It'll help you find your brother."

"Pardon me?" I said, somewhat surprised. Sonic looked equally surprised, and came closer to see what Cream had to say.

"I found it yesterday. I was planning to give it to you, but you were gone. I thought this meadow would be a safe place to hide it." Cream slowly reached into the flowers. She held in her hands something glowing. Something green.

"A Chaos Emerald? Why didn't you tell us?" Sonic asked her.

"She told me not to." Cream said matter-of-factly, as she stared at the glowing green gem in her hand. "She was afraid someone else would find her before you did."

"She?" Sonic looked a bit concerned. I, on the other hand, was distracted by the pulsating Green Emerald.

"Josh." Cream said, bringing me back into focus. "You need to take care of her. She's scared. But she wants to help you find your brother." She held out the Emerald to me.

"Cream... are you talking about the Emerald?" I asked. She nodded. After a moment of hesitation, I reached out to take it.

The Master Emerald's gift, the clear ring, suddenly started glowing a bright green. The Emerald jumped to my hand. Then it bathed the world in a blinding green light.

The glow slowly dimmed down. When it cleared, I saw I wasn't in the meadow anymore. In fact, I wasn't sure I was anywhere anymore. All I could see was white.

"Are you the one they call Josh?" A voice asked nervously from behind me. I turned to see a white fox with long black hair and a green dress. Her blue eyes barely met mine, as if she were nervous.

"Yes. Who are you. Where am I?" I asked her.

"That is of no importance."

"I think it is. Please tell me."

"..." The girl considered her options for a moment before talking. "I am the spirit of the Green Chaos Emerald. You are currently residing in my realm."

"Your realm? It's so... empty." I said, taking a look around.

"The world is a scary place. My realm is nothing, so nothing will scare me."

"Geez, were you always this timid?" I asked her, trying not to laugh at her logic. She slowly shook her head no.

"On the day me and my siblings were taken by the one you call Eggman, I became extremely afraid. But I also developed the desire to help you. When I saw you pleading to the Master, how you only cared for your brother's safety, I did the only thing I could to save you. You are a very controlled human for one so young and inexperienced with no experience in Chaos Power."

"I know why you became so afraid. Eggman was using pure emotion to power you up. Since you seem to be the embodiment of fear, Eggman channeled a strong source of fear into you, to make your power stronger." I stopped and thought of something. "Do you know why he would do that?" She shook her head no again. "Well, is there anything I can do to make you feel more at ease?"

"Yes. If you find my siblings, we will be able to safely channel our powers through someone who is strong enough. We have done this many times before with the one you call Sonic, as well as his darker counterpart Shadow. That should bring my emotions back to normal. You must hurry. The Eggman is searching for my siblings as we speak. You must not let him gather us all. The results would be grave." As she finished, she stretched out her hand. The world faded into green, then black.

"...osh...Josh...Josh! Wake up man!" I slowly opened my eyes to see Sonic gently shaking me. I sat up. The back of my head was throbbing. I reached back to rub it and felt a bump.

"What happened?" I asked, slightly dazed.

"You touched the Chaos Emerald and just passed out!" Sonic helped me up. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I brushed myself off a bit. "Cream was right, someone wants to help us."

"What do you mean?" Sonic asked.

"I just met the spirit of the Chaos Emerald. She wants to help me find my brother... Where is the Chaos Emerald anyways?" Sonic shrugged. Then, a glow from my ring caught our attention. Now, resting in the middle of the ring, was a small green gem. "...Do you think this is it?"

"I don't see why not." Sonic came over and studied the small gem. I nodded.

"Anyways, we need to act fast, Eggman's after the other Emeralds right now."

"Then there's no time to waste, is there?" Sonic's trademark smirk spread across his face. He quickly grabbed my wrist, and we were off once again.

…...

"Seriously Sonic, can't you go any slower?!" I yelled, trying to make my voice heard over the wind.

"Wow, aren't you a speed demon! Faster it is!" Sonic whooped, as he sped up.

"You know I didn't say that!" I yelled angrily. Sonic laughed and slowed down to a walk. He let go of my sore wrist, as I rubbed the pain away. "There has got to be an easier way." I said. "There is no way I can last a whole trip being dragged around like that. Can't we take one of Tail's planes or something?"

"If Eggman's after the Emeralds, he'll be patrolling the sky as well. We can't risk being seen by him, especially you. He may still have plans for you, not to mention you have one of the Chaos Emeralds." Sonic motioned towards my ring.

"Speaking of, how would we get it off?" I wondered, trying to pull the small gem out. "If we're going to use it to get me and my brother home, they wouldn't be of much use as it is now..." I tried to dig a fingernail underneath the gem, but it was stuck in there in such a way that there were no cracks to put a nail in. The Green Spirit's voice suddenly spoke to me.

"Hold your hand above me." I nodded and obeyed her command.

"Uh... what are you doing?" Sonic looked at me, confused.

"The Spirit told me to do this. Didn't you hear her?" I asked him. Sonic shook his head no.

"Now clear your head and think of the Emerald you want." The Spirit continued. I closed my eyes and thought of nothing but the Green Chaos Emerald. I felt something materialize in my palm. I opened my eyes and found the Emerald resting in my hand.

"Cool, I did it!" I said.

"Now how do you put it back?" Sonic asked. "It's a good place to hide the Emeralds. No one would think to check a ring."

"Use some of my power." The spirit said.

"For what?" I asked out loud.

"Weren't you looking for a way to run faster?" The Spirit asked. I thought for a moment.

"So... if I use your power, wouldn't that just bring you back to normal?" I didn't say it out loud this time, I tried saying it in my head.

"No. I would eventually recharge. What you require would cost me little power. I would regain it very quickly." The Spirit said sadly.

"You know what I want?" I thought.

"Well, I have a good guess."

"Okay, let's make it happen. What do I do?"

"Pray to the Master, like you did when I saved you." I nodded, and closed my eyes.

"Oh Master Emerald..." I thought. I paused. I had originally wished to fly, so that I could keep up with Sonic, but I then had a different idea. "Oh Master Emerald, show me my brother."

"Are you sure that is what you wish? My power will only allow you to see him and hear him. He won't see you, and he won't hear you." The Spirit's voice sounded cautionary. "You may witness something horrible, and you won't be able to stop it."

"I'm sure. Show me." I urged. I suddenly felt like I was floating away. When I opened my eyes, I was flying above Jacob once again.

…...

"Wow, finding that was pretty easy." Jacob said, admiring a sparkling red gem he had on a small ring. Apparently he got one too.

"Let me see." Blaze said, as she gently took his hand. She studied the gem for a moment.

"That ring made things a lot easier." Silver said as he put his hands behind his head. "Where's the next one?"

"Um..." Jacob held his fist out and moved it around. "The Dark Blue Emerald seems pretty close. It's thataway!" Jacob pointed towards a forest.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go find it!" Silver grabbed Jacob's wrist and started to speed off.

"Silver, wait!" Blaze called out. Silver stopped and walked back.

"Aaaaw, come on Blaze! I like to go fast!" Jacob looked sad. Funny, I never felt quite the same way about being dragged at a million miles an hour.

"What's wrong?" Silver asked, letting go of Jacob's wrist.

"How do we get the Sol Emeralds out of the ring? They're useless as they are now!" Blaze looked a bit worried.

"...Okay, like this?" Jacob put his hand over his ring.

"Is the Spirit talking to you?" Silver asked. Jacob nodded, and closed his eyes. After a small, red flash, the Sol Emerald appeared in his hand, full size, just like when I made the Chaos Emerald appear.

"A wish? Really?" Jacob opened his eyes and looked excited. "Well, I don't know what to wish for! ...Yeah, seeing my brother would be nice. Could I talk to him?" Jacob listened for a bit, and looked disheartened. "Well I would like to talk to him." Jacob listened for a bit more, then looked around. "Uh, hi Josh, wherever you are!" I was a bit shocked, until I realized that the Emerald's spirit probably told him I was watching. "I'm doing fine over on my end. I have so much to tell you, but I don't really have time! Just work really hard to find the Chaos Emeralds." He laughed a bit. "I betcha I can get them first!" I smiled and shook my head. "...So I can't see him right now, because he's seeing me? ...Okay, then I know what else I want!" Jacob closed his eyes once more. He was suddenly bathed in red light. The light grew brighter, until it became blinding! When it died down, Jacob was gone! A red cat stood in his place. The cat had a few strands of hair coming off of his head, much like Tails'. He had on a pair of white gloves, and red and white shoes, both of which looked quite a bit like Sonic's. He wore a pair of blue jeans and a black shirt, as well as a pair of black sunglasses.

"Uh...Jacob?" Blaze looked as shocked as I was.

"Yep! Although, you can call me Rocket!" Jacob added with a wink.

"Rocket?" Silver didn't look as shocked as you would have thought. He looked more excited.

"Yeah, it's a character I made. Whaddaya think, pretty neat huh?" Jacob asked, turning around to examine himself. He saw that he had a feline tail, and moved it around with precision. "Sweet." Jacob said. "One last test!" Jacob then started running... very fast. He came back to the group with huge eyes. "I can keep up with you guys now!" He gushed.

"Good, I was getting tired of carrying you." Silver joked.

"Why did you turn into a cat?" Blaze asked. "Didn't you like being human?"

"Well, yeah, but I've always wanted to be Rocket. Plus, now I can defend myself! Or at least help you guys defend me." He said. "Why, do you not like it?" Blaze smiled.

"No, I do. I think it's a fun wish. It's something you wanted. I'm just proud that you thought of your brother first." Blaze said.

"Thanks!" Jacob replied.

"But I'm not going to call you Rocket." Blaze added as she walked off towards the forest.

"Aw, what?" Jacob said as he chased off after her.

"Yeah, me neither." Silver said as he caught up to the group.

"Why not?!" Jacob asked, obviously getting flustered.

"It's a weird name!" Blaze replied. "And that's coming from the girl who's named after a fire!"

"It's not weird!" Jacob shot back.

"Is too." Blaze teased.

"Is not!" Jacob said, getting a bit angry.

"We'll give you a better name later!" Silver laughed.

"Personally, I like Jacob." Blaze said. As the group got farther and farther away, the vision dissolved.

…...

I opened my eyes once again. The Chaos Emerald went back to being a gem on my ring. Sonic was sitting on a rock, apparently waiting for me to come to. I was still standing this time, luckily.

"I'm back." I announced. Sonic turned in my direction and smiled.

"What's up?" He asked, standing and walking towards me.

"My brother's fine. He turned himself into a cat, but he's fine."

"A cat?" Sonic cocked his head to the side.

"He made a wish to turn into a person he made named Rocket." I replied. "And now, we're not only racing Eggman, but also him. He said he could find his set of Emeralds first, but I doubt that. Not with the fastest thing alive on my side." I said, holding out my arm. "Come on! We're burning daylight! We need to go find those Emeralds!"

"Well, I like the enthusiasm," Sonic said as he grabbed my wrist, "But we need to go back to base first and pick up some things. Plus, I'm starving." My own stomach growled when he said that.

"...Man, I must have some problems or something, my stomach's been growling like crazy!" I said, rubbing my gut. Sonic smiled and sped off.

…...

"Can you go any faster?!" I shouted over the wind.

"Haha, now you're speaking my language!" Sonic shouted back. "Get ready for a boost!" Sonic suddenly sprinted forward, breaking the sound barrier.

"T-t-t-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o f-a-a-a-a-a-a-s-t!"

**Holy cow that was long!**

**Josh: How'd you do?**

**I don't know. ...It wasn't my best. But I promise I can do better! This was just one of those in between chapters, not really and action chapter.**

**Josh: If you say so. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm about to be dragged off aga-**

**...Josh? Jooooosh? Huh, Sonic must have got him. Well, don't forget to review guys! Thanks for reading!**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

**Hello everyone! I'm back from the dead!**

**Josh: ZOMBIE! QUICK GIMME MY BAT!**

**OW! Stop that, I'm not a zombie! It's an expression!**

**Josh: I know, it's just fun to pester you.**

**…**

**Josh: So, where have you been?**

**Oh, well, I had a really fun weekend! I went to my family reunion up in-**

**Josh: Zzzzzz...**

**...Here's a new chapter.**

I rummaged through my newly acquired backpack to make sure I had everything I needed.

"Sleeping bag, food, water, cash card... That's it." I zipped up the bag and headed out of my room. Sonic was munching on a chili dog, waiting for me to come out.

"You ready?" He asked, finishing up his last bite.

"Yeah. Is that all you eat?" I asked him back.

"No, but I'd like to." Sonic opened the door.

"Wait, I gotta say goodbye to everyone." I said, turning around.

"I know, they're all outside, waiting for you." Sonic said as he walked out of the house. I followed suit.

Everyone was outside the door. Amy looked a little misty eyed, but she seemed to be holding up pretty well.

"Thank you. All of you." I looked from Amy, to Tails, to Cream and Cheese, to Knuckles. "I don't know how to thank you for all of your support."

"You can go out there and find your brother." Tails said. I chuckled a bit and nodded. Amy walked up to me and smiled.

"You be careful, okay? I want to hear all about your adventure." Amy smiled a bit. I hugged her.

"I promise." I said. I gave her a quick squeeze before moving on.

"Are you taking care of her?" Cream asked worriedly.

"Yes, I am. I promise." I told her, showing her my ring. She smiled before handing me a small flower. I held it to my nose and sniffed. "Thank you. It smells nice."

"You're welcome." Cream said, curtsying a bit. I smiled again, then looked at Knuckles.

"Thank you for helping us." I said, smiling.

"I didn't really do anything." Knuckles said, shrugging.

"Well, all the same, it was nice meeting you." I said walking over to him.

"Hey, you can't get rid of me that easily." He replied. "I'm coming with you guys."

"You are?" I asked.

"I can't be everywhere at once, so Knuckles will help protect you." Sonic said, walking over towards me.

"Yeah, and I feel kinda bad for how I treated you at the Master Emerald." He said a little quietly.

"Don't worry, you were just doing your job." I said, smiling. He smiled back.

"So, you got everything?" Sonic asked.

"Right here!" I patted my backpack.

"Alright, where are we going?" Knuckles asked.

"...Well... my brother went like this..." I said as I held my ring out in front of me and waved it around. "...It's not doing anything..."

"What? What do you mean?" Sonic asked.

"I mean it's not saying anything, I'm not feeling anything, nothing!" I said, focusing on the ring. All it did was change color in the sun... unless. "Wait..." I held it out in one specific direction. It glowed a soft red. I held it in another. It glowed a bright purple. As I held the ring around, it glowed the six remaining colors of the Chaos Emeralds. Some of the colors shown brighter than the others. I smiled a bit.

"Guys, let's go." I said, going in the direction of the purple glow. "We've got an Emerald to find." Knuckles dashed forward, as Sonic grabbed my wrist and sped off with him.

…...

"How much further?!" Knuckles yelled over the wind. I checked my ring. It only glowed a little brighter than the last time we checked, about 3 hours ago.

"I don't know! This isn't really a GPS, I only know that we're getting closer!" I yelled back.

"By how much?!" Sonic asked. I checked again. Only a little brighter.

"Not a lot!" I yelled back. "Can we stop?! I think you popped my wrist out of place!" I yelled. My wrist had been in pain for a while. Sonic and Knuckles both nodded and slowed down. We came to a full stop, as Sonic let go of my hand. I felt my wrist. It didn't feel any different. It must have just been sore.

"Are you sure that purple Emerald is the closest?" Sonic asked me. I held my ring out in front of me and waved it around.

"It's gotta be. No other color shines as brightly as the purple emerald." I said as I put my hand down and faced the two.

"Do you think they flew off of the continent?" Knuckles pondered.

"I hope not, I really don't want to run all the way back to grab the plane." Sonic said, stretching his arms a bit.

"No kidding." I said as I rubbed my wrist. "Can't we just use Chaos Control and teleport over there?" I asked. Knuckles shook his head.

"You need to know where you're going." Knuckles explained. "If you use Chaos Control without a specific place in mind, the Emerald takes you somewhere at random."

"Well, what if I used a wish?" I suggested.

"Worth a shot." Sonic said. I nodded and held my hand over the ring. After a brief flash, the Emerald was in my hand.

"Oh Master Emerald!" I shouted to the heavens. "Show us the way to the Purple Chaos Emerald!"

Silence.

I shook the Emerald a bit.

"Hello?!" I shouted into it. "Green spirit? We need you to grant me a wish!"

"I cannot grant a wish to you at this time. While my emotions are still strong, my power is drained. If you can find one of my brothers, I am sure my powers will be restored." The spirit said quietly. I rolled my eyes a bit.

"Looks like we're just going to keep running." I said.

"Not so fast!" A voice called from behind us. We whipped around to see who was talking to us.

"Eggman!" Knuckles growled. The portly scientist was sitting in his hovering Egg-mobile thing, sneering at us.

"Hey Eggy! Looks like you put on some weight since the last time I saw you!" Sonic teased.

"What do you want?" I asked as menacingly as I possibly could... which wasn't very menacing.

"Hmm, where to start?" Eggman said. "To rule the world, to finally get rid of Sonic, and, oh yes, **you!**" Eggman leaned over his control panel.

"What do you want with Josh?" Sonic asked, putting a protective arm in front of me.

"Well, I really just want his ring, but it seems that the two come as a set package." Eggman replied.

"What do you mean?" I asked, confusedly.

"Have you tried to take it off yet?" Eggman asked, sounding a bit bored and annoyed. I reached down to take the ring off, but it was stuck on.

"How did you know?" I yelled.

"I have my ways." Eggman retorted nonchalantly. "Now do you want to be a good boy and come quietly, or do we have to do this the hard way?" I barely had time to respond before Knuckles charged at the aircraft and gave it a solid punch.

"How about the easy way where we beat you to a pulp?" I said, smiling. Eggman grunted and pushed some buttons. To panels opened up on each side of the craft, revealing some deadly looking rockets.

"Fire!" Eggman yelled as he slammed down a big button. The rockets shot off. Each one spiraled in the air for a while before finding their target.

Me.

I leaped out of the way as the rockets exploded where I just stood. I covered my head as bits and pieces of earth, dirt, and rock rained down on the group.

"Josh, go take cover! We'll take care of him!" Sonic yelled over to me. I nodded and hid behind a rock. I peeked over and watched the fighting. I snickered as I quickly realized that Eggman didn't stand a chance against both Sonic and Knuckles. That's when I felt something tap me on the shoulder.

"Freeze human!" A tinny voice said from behind me. I turned to see one of Eggman's red robots standing right behind me with a gun to my forehead. I glared at him, then reared back to punch him.

"This is for my brother!" I yelled as I punched the ball of tin.

I didn't even faze it.

"...Ow." I said, pulling back my hand and cradling it in my other. Knuckles suddenly punched the robot from the side, successfully dismantling it.

"Maybe you should leave the punching to me." He said before taking off to fight some more. I watched him go, feeling strangely sad. Why was I sad? Just because I couldn't defend myself? Why would that make me sad? These two have proven that they would be more than willing to protect me. And yet... I'm putting them in danger.

"Now do you want to be a good boy and come quietly," Eggman's voice came drifting back to me, "Or do we have to do this the hard way?" The world sort of dissolved as I sat in deep thought. What could I have said? If I went quietly, Sonic and Knuckles wouldn't be constantly babysitting me. They could go find the Emeralds themselves, right?

...No. We need the ring. If Eggman had it, he could find the Emeralds quickly, and his evil plan would be realized.

"You can come out now Josh." Sonic called over, breaking me from my trance. I stood up and walked over.

"So how'd it go?" I asked.

"You know, we threw a bunch of punches, he tried to hit us back, he failed, we chased him off. Same as usual." Sonic shrugged. I laughed a bit.

"Does this happen every day?" I asked through my laughter.

"It sure feels like it." Knuckles said, somewhat grumpily.

"Well, he's tenacious, you gotta give that to him." Sonic pointed out. "I mean, he's been going after me ever since I was born." "

And that was, what, 25 years ago?" I asked. Sonic nodded

"He's never given up." Sonic said. "Ever." He laughed a bit. "I think his first plan was to try to poison my binky."

"...You have to wonder why he was trying to get rid of you from the beginning." I said, pondering.

"What do you mean?" Knuckles asked.

"Well, how would Eggman know that Sonic would be the very scourge on his existence?" Sonic stopped and thought about it as well.

"Y'know, I never really thought about that. Eggman just became a normal part in my life, so I really just ignored it." Sonic crossed his arms. "Do you think it has something to do with the Time Eater?" Sonic looked at Knuckles.

"I'm sorry, Time Eater?" I cut in.

"On my 25th birthday, Eggman took control of a beast called the Time Eater. Eggman was going to try and use it to go back and get rid of me." Sonic explained. "It never really occurred to me he would have gone back that far."

"Of course it wouldn't. When he went back, the rest of time changed. You wouldn't know the difference." I said. "You're a different hedgehog." Sonic smiled.

"Well, no harm done I guess. No matter how many times Eggman tries to stop me, he'll always fail. And with the Time Eater out of the way, I don't have to worry about any more changes to my past." Sonic said.

"Are we just going to stand around and talk, or are we gonna get going?" Knuckles asked impatiently.

"Actually, I think we should set up camp for the night." I said. "It's getting dark out." I looked up to see that the sky was already pretty black. "I'll go find some firewood." I said, heading out into the forest.

"I'll go with you." Sonic said. "You never know what's lurking in these woods." Sonic stood next to me. I smiled.

"Thanks. Knuckles, you wanna set up the tent?" I turned to look back at the echidna. He nodded. I took off my backpack and set it down. "Should be in there somewhere... maybe..." Did I even pack a tent? I hoped so, it was turning out to be a cold night. I don't sleep well when it's cold. "...If it's not in there, don't worry about it."

"Did you pack it?" Knuckles gave me a 'you ditz' look.

"Maybe." I quickly said before scurrying into the woods.

…...

"So did you, or did you not pack the tent?" Sonic asked as he grabbed another small branch.

"I don't know, I forget. I am a blonde you know." I said, getting somewhat annoyed by the conversation. "Can we just drop it please? Look, if I didn't bring it, I'm sorry, you'll just have to sleep outside."

"I really wasn't planning on using the tent." Sonic replied. "I sleep outside all the time. It's what I'm used to. And Knuckles... I don't think he ever sleeps..."

"It could explain why he's so irritable." I said, grabbing a small log. "What do you think, is this enough?" I looked to Sonic expectantly.

"Looks good to me." Sonic replied. "Let's head back."

And so, here I am, huddled around a fire, tent-less. I knew I forgot something. I guess as long as I stay near the fire, I'll be fine. I hope. ...Anyways, end of entry two.

**Josh: I hate you. Are you gonna make me freeze or something?**

**Possibly. Stop hitting me with a bat and I might not.**

**Josh: Fine.**

**Thank you. sniffle**

**Josh: Are you sick?**

**Yeah, I have a cold or something. I got it after my family reunion at-**

**Josh: No one cares.**

**...Why do you hurt me so?**

**Josh: Because you took my little brother away from me.**

**I thought you were over that!**

**Josh: Not anymore! I miss him again!**

**Sigh Don't forget to review guys! I love feedback, no matter how negative or positive it may be! Give me any tips or whatever!**


	13. Unlucky 13

Unlucky 13

Josh shivered in his sleeping bag. He had forgotten his tent, and the fire he tried to keep alive had long since gone out. He hadn't been asleep for long before the cold woke him up.

"Sonic and Knuckles are lucky." He said to himself, quietly. "They have fur coat to keep them warm." He curled up a bit more in his sleeping bag to try to conserve body heat. When all it did was make him uncomfortable, he sighed and got out of his sleeping bag to walk around. He quietly stepped past Knuckles who was sleeping next to a tree, and took a look up. Sonic was sound asleep on a tree limb he had found. "How can they just fall asleep wherever?" Josh thought to himself. "Maybe it's more comfortable than sleeping on the ground..." Josh slowly walked over to a tree and climbed up it.

…...

"Okay, remind me to never try to sleep in a tree again." Josh said, rubbing his head. After falling out of a tree for the 3rd time, he gave up trying to find a new place to sleep and headed back to camp. He looked around himself at the now dark forest. "It's kinda creepy out here..." Josh whispered. He started to whistle to try to take away some of the fear.

Josh suddenly saw movement from out of the corner of his eye. He whipped around to see a dark figure approaching him from the shadows.

"W-who's there?!" Josh shouted out. As the figure got closer, his features became a bit clearer.

"...Sonic. It's just you." Josh sighed. "You can't sneak up on me like that!" The figure didn't respond, but instead kept getting closer. "Sonic? Hello?" Josh called out, trying to get a response. A small beam of moonlight briefly lit up the figure.

"...Y-you're not Sonic." Josh stuttered, backing away slightly. The figure came close enough that Josh could make out his green fur, red glasses, and black jacket.

"No, I'm not." Scourge sneered. "Josh."

"S-Scourge?!" Josh yelped.

"The one and only." Scourge replied.

"What are you doing here?" Josh asked, continuing to back away from the Anti-Sonic. Scourge rushed behind Josh and grabbed both of his arms.

"I'm here to get you." Scourge said quietly before slamming Josh onto the ground. Josh grunted as he hit the ground. Scourge kicked the boy. "Get up!" He yelled. Josh tried to get up before being kicked to the ground again. "I said **get up!**" Scourge commanded again. Josh shakily got to his feet.

"Wha... why are you... doing this?" Josh wheezed, clutching his side.

"Let's just say it's in my benefit if you're out of the question." Scourge said before socking Josh in the stomach, sending the boy flying into a tree.

"S-Sonic!" Josh called out weakly.

"Don't even try it. He's too far away to hear you." Scourge said, walking over to his victim.

…...

Sonic awoke with a start as he heard a soft cry.

"S-Sonic!"

It sounded like Josh. Sonic looked down to see that Josh's sleeping bag was empty. He quickly jumped out of his tree and ran off in the direction of the cry.

"Josh! Can you hear me?! What's wrong?!" Sonic called off into the forest.

…...

"Josh! Can you hear me?! What's wrong?!" Sonic's voice carried off into the forest and reached Josh's ears. Josh smiled weakly.

"D-did you hear that? Sonic's coming. Y-you're going to be in big trouble." Josh said softly as he struggled to his feet. Scourge cocked his head to the side and listened, but heard nothing.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Scourge sneered. "Now, prepare to die. Alone."

"Sonic! Over here!" Josh made one last ditch call out to the forest, this one weaker than the other. Scourge laughed.

"Is that the best you can do?" Scourge mocked.

"Please hurry!" Josh called out.

…...

"Please hurry!"

Sonic picked up the sound and headed towards it.

"I'm coming Josh." Sonic said. "Just sit tight." Sonic finally saw the young man, leaning against a tree, with an all too familiar green hedgehog approaching him. "Josh!" Sonic yelled, rushing to his friend's aid.

…...

"Josh!" Scourge turned to see Sonic rushing towards him, pure anger in his eyes. The blue hedgehog landed a solid hit on his green counterpart, causing him to fly back, doubled over. "If you know what's good for you, you'll leave! Now!" Sonic yelled. Scourge shakily got up and glared at Sonic before dashing off. Sonic watched his evil twin leave before turning to Josh.

"Sonic..." Josh smiled before collapsing. Sonic barely had enough time to catch him before he fell to the ground.

"Oh Josh." Sonic said quietly, examining the young man's various wounds, scratches, and bruises. "He got you good." Sonic took one last look around the forest to make sure Scourge was gone, then dashed off to camp with Josh in his arms.

…...

"What happened?" Knuckles asked, searching Josh's body for any more injuries that needed to be treated.

"Scourge was beating him up." Sonic said, staring at Josh's face. His eyes were black, and his lips were a bit swollen. Knuckles and Sonic had been working for the past while to try to treat some of the more major injuries. Both agreed that none of the injuries were grievous enough that a doctor would need to get involved, but all the same, they would need to take it easy on Josh for a good while.

"You're lucky you found him in time. He would have been a goner." Knuckles said. "How'd you know he was in danger?"

"Didn't his screams wake you up?" Sonic asked.

"What screams?" Knuckles asked back.

"What do you mean 'what screams?' His loud screams of pain!" Sonic replied. "You really didn't hear that?" Knuckles slowly shook his head no, giving a concerned look to his rival. "Look, I know what I heard, okay?" Sonic finished, turning his attention back to Josh. Knuckles stared at Sonic a while more before returning to his resting spot. Sonic lingered for a while before heading back to his tree. He stopped short about halfway and turned to look at Josh once more. Sonic took one last look around the forest, then walked back to the unconscious boy. He started up a small fire and sat down to keep watch.

"He's trying to take care of his little brother," Sonic thought to himself, "So I'll try to take care of mine." Josh let out a soft moan, as his eyes fluttered open. "Hey." Sonic said. "How do you feel?"

"Peachy." Josh laughed softly. "Did you get him?"

"Yeah, he ran off."

"He ran off?"

"Of course! He knows he can't beat me!" Sonic said proudly.

"Hmhm. No one can beat you." Josh smiled, then winced a bit as he tried to sit up. Sonic stopped him.

"You need to rest." Sonic said as he gently laid him back down. Josh nodded and relaxed. "So why was Scourge beating you up?" Sonic asked.

"I don't know." Josh replied. "All he said was that it would be to his advantage if I was gone." Josh thought for a moment. "Do you think he's working with Eggman?"

"I doubt it." Sonic said. "If Scourge does something, it's for his gain and his gain only. He avoids helping anyone, whether they're good or bad."

"Could he just be beating me up because he hates you?" Josh asked.

"It's a possibility." Sonic said. "But let's talk later. You need to get some rest now." Sonic said, smiling at his adopted brother. Josh smiled back before closing his eyes and letting sleep wash over him. Sonic added one more log to the fire before laying down next to Josh, and falling asleep.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

**Josh: Okay, so instead of having me freeze to death, I'm nearly beaten to death by Scourge.**

**JJ: Yep.**

**Josh: Woah, who are you?**

**JJ: I'm the author! Thanks to VioletAssasin for the new name! ;)**

**Josh: Stop flirting!**

**JJ: I'M NOT!**

**Josh: Hehehe, yes you are.**

**JJ: ...Thanks to everyone who's been reviewing and following the story! I hope you guys are liking it! And I'm not!**

**Josh: Are!**

**JJ: Not!**

**Josh: Are!**

**JJ: Not!**

Hello again whoever's listening to this! This should be entry three at this point. Why am I even making this still? It's not like I'm stuck here forever. All I gotta do is find my set of Emeralds before Eggman and preferably before Jacob, then we use Chaos Control and go home. Easy-Peasy. ...I hope I don't jinx anything. Oh, right, back to the story.

So, last night, I had a rather unfortunate encounter with Scourge the Hedgehog. He decided to beat me up last night for reasons we're yet to figure out. The injuries have improved, but not by much...

I was pretty tender this morning. Getting out of my sleeping bag was a chore in itself. Luckly, Sonic woke up about the same time I did to help me up.

"How do I look?" I asked.

"...Meh." He replied, shrugging.

"I was afraid you would say that." I sighed.

"So, what do you want to do?" Sonic asked.

"Uh... try running with me, let's see what happens." Sonic nodded, took my wrist, and started running.

Oh.

My.

Goodness.

Gracious.

Gert.

"AAAAH! STOP! STOPSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOO OOOP!" Sonic slowed down. "I'm just sore all over right now!"

"So do you just want to stay here and rest?" Sonic asked. I shook my head.

"I can walk." I said, taking more of a limp than a walk. "Somewhat anyways. I figure some progress is better than no progress at all."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, we need to beat my brother, not to mention Eggman." I said, heading in the direction of the Purple Emerald.

"Uh, Josh?" I turned to see Sonic pointing to a still sleeping Knuckles.

…...

"Is this really the only way?" Knuckles asked, sounding bored.

"I guess we could run." I said. "I'll just grin and bear it."

"No, you need to rest." Sonic cut in. "I'm still not happy with you walking, but I'll let it slide. But running? No way." Knuckles groaned.

"The kid said he's fine with it!" He whined.

"I didn't say that, I said I'd grin and bear it. I'd prefer not to." I shot back.

"Fine." Knuckles relented. "But once you get better, we're running again." I leaned over to Sonic.

"What's his deal? He seems grumpier than usual." I said quietly.

"He feels like someone's going to take the Master Emerald." He said back.

"...He volunteered to come. Didn't he think of that?"

"Knuckles is more of a 'act now, think later' kinda guy." Sonic rolled his eyes. I turned to Knuckles and sighed.

"I don't know if I can stand much more of this." I grumbled quietly.

"Excuse me for interrupting." A soft voice, the voice of the Green Spirit, said. "But I could check on my Master periodically to see how he is doing. Would that help alleviate some of your troubles?"

"Neither of you heard that, did you?" I asked Sonic and Knuckles.

"Once again, no." Knuckles growled.

"I promise Josh, Scourge isn't going to get you, not when you're with us." Sonic told me reassuringly.

"No, the Green Spirit was talking to me. I was just trying to see if you guys will ever hear her." I explained. "I'm thinking the answer is no." Then I spoke to the Spirit. "Yes, I think a quick check in every now and then would be nice. Let's say, every thirty minutes."

"As you wish." The Spirit went silent for a moment. "The Master is safe and secure."

"Knuckles, the Green Spirit just told me the Master Emerald is fine." I said. While it wasn't very drastic, there was a slight mood change in the echidna. I could have sworn he was feeling something close to calmness. "She'll update us every thirty minutes. Nothing is going to happen."

"Don't jinx anything." Knuckles said dryly. I rolled my eyes and continued walking.

"Man, how big is this forest?" I asked Sonic.

"We should be almost out." Sonic replied, scanning the clearing ahead of him. I looked forward.

"And by almost you mean what, three, maybe four weeks?" I teased.

"Just relax. We'll be out of here before it gets dark." He started to jab me in the rib, until he remembered my injuries.

"Ha, I've got immunity!" I said proudly, lifting my nose high in the air.

"Just wait. Once you're healed, I've got something in store for you." Sonic threatened jokingly.

"We'll see about that." I said mockingly.

…...

"See, I told you we'd get here before it gets dark!" Sonic said as we approached a big, flashy city. It looked odd in some places though. One building looked like a big pinball machine! I was pretty sure a couple of the rooftops were roulette wheels.

"Woah! What is this place?" I said in awe.

"This is Casino Park!" Sonic grandly gestured to the place.

"...Cute." Knuckles said, looking at Sonic annoyed.

"Wait, I think I remember this! You had to go through here with Knuckles and Tails. And by yourself too I think..." I said, thinking back.

"I never came here by myself, but I did come with _Knucklehead_ and Tails." Sonic said,

"HEY!" Knuckles lunged at Sonic, who quickly stepped out of the way. As Knuckles tried to make another lunge, I stood between the two.

"Okay, let's get going before someone loses an eye." I said awkwardly. Knuckles growled at Sonic before storming off into the city. Sonic snickered and followed. I sighed. "Am I gonna have to babysit these two the whole time?" I asked tiredly.

…...

"Oh come on Sonic! Just one game, I promise!" I begged flailing to get out of Sonic's firm grasp on my arm.

"Josh, I don't care if you can gamble here, you will get addicted and waste all of you money." Sonic said as he dragged me away. I have a small weakness for gambling games. I've only played with fake money, but when I heard that the Park had no minimum age you had to be, I jumped at the chance.

"I'm already addicted! I know what I'm doing! I won't stay in for too long! Pleeeeeease!" I begged, giving him my best little kid eyes.

"'No' means 'no' Josh!" Sonic said firmly. "I don't want you going in there. You're dealing with real money here, not fake money."

"Knuckles is in there." I said pointing towards the crowded casino.

"That's because he's an idiot. Look, you'll blow all of your money, and there are some people in there you really don't want to meet, or even see for that matter." Sonic let go of my arm and set me down on a bench. "Look at the streets. How many people do you see?" I looked around. The streets were practically empty.

"No one." I said.

"That's because they're all in the casinos. They're tourist traps, where people lose every ring they ever earned." Sonic said. "That's why I personally never go in them. You never know when those rings you saved might come in handy. You understand?" I nodded. He had a point. Who knows how long I would have stayed in the casino. I almost forgot about the task at hand: finding the Emeralds. I held my arm out in the direction of the Purple Emerald. Not much closer than we were before.

"We've still got a ways to go." I sighed.

"Are you absolutely sure that it's the closest Emerald?" Sonic asked. I checked once more.

Light Blue: Faint.

Red: Faint.

White: Faint.

Yellow: Very strong.

Dark Blue: Fai- wait what? I quickly swung my hand back in the direction of the Yellow Emerald. It was much closer than it was the morning before.

"How is that possible?" I said. "It was the furthest one just a few days ago!

"Look, it's getting closer!" Sonic said, pointing to my ring. We quickly got up and walked into the street.

"It's coming from... there!" I said, putting my arm down. I looked to see a very large and colorful truck coming down the street, carrying a large trailer that was playing loud, fun music. Me and Sonic quickly got back onto the sidewalk as we let the vehicle pass us. I read the trailer's side as it passed us.

"Blitz's Nighttime Traveling Circus." As the truck rumbled past, I held up my ring to it. "It's definitely in there." I said, watching the yellow glow dim ever so slightly as the truck got further and further.

"Looks like we're going to see a circus." Sonic said. I nodded, and we both walked off in pursuit of the truck.

…...

When we arrived, the carnival workers were already almost set up. The giant white and blue circus tent was gently flapping in the breeze as the last stakes were being tied down. Performers of all kinds were practicing their acts. Everything was just chaotic, with last minute preparations being made to everything. Sonic whistled.

"These guys keep busy." He said.

"Have you heard of them?" I asked him.

"Nope." He said, shaking his head. "I'm interested to see what they do though."

"While I am too, just remember, we're on a mission." I said, reminding him of our task.

"That's not what I heard when you wanted to go gamble." He said, giving me a sidelong glance. I hung my head a bit. I hoped he would have forgotten that. I mean, yeah, it was like, five minutes ago, but whatever.

"Gentlemen!" A voice called out from behind us. We turned around to see one of the most extravagantly dressed people I had ever seen. "What brings you to my humble circus?"

"Are you Blitz?" Sonic asked.

"Blitz the Bat if you feel formal." He replied, taking off his top hat and bowing. He wasn't like any bat I had seen. For one, his fur was yellow. He wore a small red vest over a purple shirt, with a red bow tie to top the look off. He wore black pants, and polished black shoes. His personality was charming, and he had a smooth, friendly voice to match. He straightened himself up and put a hand in his pocket.

"A pleasure." I said, not sure how to respond to his formal bow. I simply stuck my hand out, hoping he would shake it and not consider me rude. He smiled and took my hand. And not to shake it. He actually grabbed my hand and turned it so that he could see my palm.

"Oh my, you've been in quite the fight, haven't you?" Blitz asked, looking at my injuries. "Don't tell me, let me figure it out. Let's see..." Blitz said, studying my palm. "Your name is Josh..." He said tracing one of the lines on my palm. "You are not from here... well, obviously." He said, looking me up and down. He stopped tracing one of the lines. "...I can't seem to see any parents." He said, looking at me again, his large bat ears slightly drooping. "Is this true?" I nodded. He gave me a sympathetic smile before continuing on. "And you have two siblings, two brothers if I'm not mistaken. But one of them is not your blood brother..."

"How did you know all of that?" I asked in awe as I lowered my hand.

"Just a little practice, that's all." Blitz replied.

"He has a Chaos Emerald." The Green Spirit suddenly spoke up. "He gains his knowledge, as well as his odd coloration, from my brother." I looked the bat up and down for any place he could be hiding an Emerald.

"Is it on him?" I asked the Green Spirit.

"It must be. We cannot communicate with a person unless they are directly touching the Emerald. That is why only you can hear me, and no one else."

"But I'm not seeing any Chaos Emerald shaped lump-" I stopped short as I looked at Blitz's hand. The one that was in his pocket.

"Hey, we're sorry to bother you, but we're looking for a Chaos Emerald." Sonic told Blitz. "It's about the size of your fist, it's yellow, looks like a large diamond."

"Hmmm... Can't say I've seen it." Blitz said, shrugging.

"It's in your pocket." I said, eying the bat.

"What? There is nothing in my pocket." Blitz said defensively, pulling his hand out of his pocket.

"Prove it." I said back.

"Don't you trust me?" Blitz asked, tilting his head to the side.

"The way you're acting sure isn't helping my suspicions." I said, crossing my arms. "Empty your pockets." Blitz sighed.

"Suit yourself." He said. He reached both hands into his pockets and turned them inside out. Nothing was in them. He opened his hands to reveal that they weren't hiding anything. "Satisfied?" He asked, sounding somewhat offended.

"...Sorry. I guess I'm just a little paranoid." I stared at the ground sheepishly.

"Well, I can't blame you for that." Blitz replied, cheerfully. "You do need those things to find your brother, don't you?"

"Yeah, how'd you know that?" Sonic asked, wide eyed.

"I dabble in mind reading." Blitz said. "Hey, I was a bit difficult too. I shouldn't have been so defensive. Here." He reached into his vest and pulled out two tickets. "I'd give one to your echidna friend too, but I get the feeling he doesn't like circuses." He started walking away. "The show starts at 9:00, tonight!" He called back, waving goodbye. Me and Sonic waved back before walking off.

"He has the Emerald, doesn't he." Sonic said quietly.

"I don't think so." I said just as quietly. I turned around and checked to see where Blitz was. I saw his figure slip into the Circus tent. "Yes, he has it." I whispered.

"What? But you just said he-"

"Bat's have great hearing." I whispered. "He would have heard us. I had to wait for him to get out of earshot."

"Well where is it?" Sonic whispered back.

"It's on him. It was in his pocket, I know that for sure. I don't know how he made it disappear, but it has to be on him."

"Could it be on a piece of jewelry? Like how the Green Emerald is on your ring?"

"Spirit?" I asked in my head.

"No. This ring is special. It allows you to be in contact with all of the Emeralds once you get them. It will prove useful as we begin to pool our knowledge together." The Green Spirit answered. I looked at Sonic and shook my head.

"Well, what do you suggest we do?" Sonic stopped in front of the casino Knuckles was in and put a hand on his hip.

"I say we go see a circus." I said, getting slightly distracted by the flashing lights and sounds.

"You stay here." Sonic said, grabbing my arm just as I was about to walk in.

**Josh: Yes, I am addicted. Don't judge me.**

**JJ: It's okay, I'm a little addicted too. I really like slot machines especially.**

**Josh: The one armed bandits? Man, if you're gonna gamble, play a game that's fair. Craps is a good example.**

**JJ: Anywho, here we are at the end of another chapter. Blitz is my character. Any similarities to events, whether they be fictional or non-fictional, is completely coincidental. I promise, I am not purposely trying to rip off someone's story. I had a little trouble when someone said my story had some similarities to some of hers. All of these ideas, whether they be original or not, are from me, no one else.**

**Josh: Yeah, so be nice!**

**JJ: Speaking of, why are you being so nice to me?**

**Josh: VioletAssasin said she would hurt me if I was mean to you.**

**JJ: Oh yeah! Thanks Vi! And don't forget to Review if you guys wanna complain or point out something. And if Blitz the Bat is taken by someone else... I will cry. I thought I was being original. ...Er, anyway, thanks for all of the support guys!**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

**JJ: Herro everyone!**

**Josh: Nuh-uh, not today, you are too sick.**

**JJ: No I'b not! I'b perfectly fibe.**

**Josh: ...Just go to bed.**

**JJ: Tank you.**

**Josh: ...He's obnoxious and a bit of a jerk at times, but you can't help but pity him. Poor guy.**

"So, tell me one more time how this is going to help you get a Chaos Emerald." Knuckles said tiredly, laying on the hotel bed.

"Blitz has the Yellow Chaos Emerald on him, but we aren't sure where." I explained. "If we watch his act, we may be able to figure out where on him he hides it."

"But the only way we can do that is if we actually go to the circus," Sonic continued, "So if we're lucky enough to figure out his secret, we can confront him after the show and get it from him."

"Look, whatever, I know this is just some lame attempt to spend time with each other." Knuckles closed his eyes.

"Aaaaw, did someone gamble away all of their money?" I asked.

"Shut up." Knuckles rolled away from us. I smiled.

"See ya Knuckles." I waved as me and Sonic walked out the door. He waved his hand dismissively.

…...

"Why are we leaving so early?" Sonic asked, looking at an electronic clock on one of the buildings. 7:00

"Oh, I'm sorry, we could just go back to the hotel and spend more time with Knuckles." I said.

"Point taken." Sonic said, snickering a bit.

"Besides, it'll be a good way to get to know the place, see the different performers, and, you know, just have fun." I said, smiling. I really didn't want to tell him, but I loved spending time with him. He may not be my actual brother, but he sure as heck acted like one. But what would I tell him? Hey, I like spending time with you? That would come across a little awkwardly.

"Should be right around he-" Sonic stopped. His eyes were wide, and I was pretty sure my mouth was to the ground. If we thought the grounds were impressive last night, tonight's grounds were nothing less then spectacular. Colorful lights stringed cobblestone walkways, with a ton of food stands and midway games. The Circus tent glowed multiple colors from spotlights illuminating it from the inside.

"This place looks awesome!" I exclaimed.

"No kidding! Come on, let's check it out!" Sonic dashed towards the park.

"Uh, Sonic?" I said, limping as fast as I could to catch up. Sonic turned and looked at me.

"Oh, right." He walked back to me. "Ready?" I nodded and we walked/limped over to the crowded booths.

…...

"Woah! Josh, come look at this!" Sonic motioned me over to a small black building. "It's a Haunted House!" I looked at the sign.

"The Nightshade Circus?" I read. "Uh... I dunno."

"Come on man, it'll be fun!" Sonic said, walking over to the entrance.

"Ah, well, uh, I've never been in one before." I said, slowly walking back.

"A Haunted House?" Sonic asked, looking at me with disbelief. I nodded. "Well come on! It'll be your first one!"

"Uh, nah, I think I'll pass." I said, waving it off.

"Oh, come on!" Sonic went down and grabbed my arm. "You'll like it!"

"Uh, no, Sonic, WAIT!" I was quickly (and slightly painfully) dragged to the entrance.

"Entry for two please!" Sonic said into a darkened ticket booth. He pulled out his cash card from my backpack and held it out.

"Only accept tickets." A creepy voice said from within the booth.

"Oh, uh..." Sonic put the card back in my pack and pulled out the two tickets Blitz gave us. "Will these work?" He held them out. A snarled, green hand slid out of the darkness of the booth and took the tickets.

"...Welcome." The ticket attendant handed Sonic back the tickets. The door in front of us slowly opened, creakily.

"...Sweet! Come on, let's go!" Sonic started to walk in, but I kept my feet firmly planted. I was shivering from fear. "Josh, come on, you'll have fun!" Sonic quickly grabbed my arm again and yanked me in. The doors slammed shut behind us. The room was pitch black.

"...Sonic, I don't think this is a good idea." I said, quietly and squeakily.

"Relax, nothing scary's happening... yet." I couldn't see him, but I could almost guarantee he was smirking his signature smirk.

"Look, whatever, just stay close." I said, grabbing his arm.

"Alright. Grab my arm or something." Sonic said.

"...I am." I said, getting more and more scared.

"No you're not..." Sonic sounded a bit excited.

"Then who-?" I was interrupted when a white clown face, with sharp yellow teeth lit up next to me and growled. I screamed. Like a girl. Soon, the whole room lit up to reveal all sorts of decaying and monstrous clowns, all lunging at us with chainsaws.

"GET ME OUT OF HERE!" I screamed, clinging to Sonic's arm and closing my eyes. Sonic walked forward, occasionally jumping back and yelping a bit before laughing and moving on. We finally made it out of the room and were in a black lit hallway. Sonic was laughing.

"See, that wasn't so bad Jo-...Josh?" Sonic realized I wasn't on his arm anymore. He looked around. "Where are you man, I don't see you!" I don't know when he got the idea to look down, (He probably heard me whimpering) but he looked down to see me crouching down on the ground, eyes shut tight, with my hands over my ears. "H-hey!" Sonic reached down and touched my shoulder, which scared me again. I sighed when I realized it was just Sonic. "Are you really that scared?" Sonic asked me. I nodded a bit. I couldn't bring myself to look at him. He probably thought I was the funniest thing, a sixteen year old reduced to the fetal position, almost in tears. I don't care how much of a good person you are, you can't look at a person like me without thinking "wimp."

At least, that's what I thought.

Sonic gently pulled me up and turned me to look at him. He looked concerned, and apologetic. He pulled me in to a hug.

"I'm sorry man. I shouldn't drag you into things you don't want to do." He said quietly.

"It's okay. You were thought I would enjoy it." I replied, hiccuping slightly.

"Aaaw, well isn't that sweet?!" A voice yelled from in front of us. I whipped around to see a giant clown on stilts, wielding a machete. I started to turn in the opposite direction and run before Sonic grabbed me and pulled me past it.

"Just stay close to me." He put an arm around me. "I'll try to show where all the people will jump out. Just remember, everything's fake." I nodded. Sonic smiled and squeezed my shoulder reassuringly. We then proceeded down the hallway.

…...

While I probably won't go into a Haunted House ever, **ever**, again, Sonic made the experience a ton better. Sonic kept a sharp eye out for any and all hiding places and pointed them out to me. And for the ones he didn't get, his hand on my shoulder helped calm me enough that only a small whimper would escape from my lips. After what seemed like an eternity, we finally made it out of the Haunted House. I looked up at Sonic, and he looked down at me, smiling.

"It's all over." He said comfortingly.

"...Thank you. Sorry if I made you uncomfortable, I scare easily." I said, embarrassed.

"Why would I be uncomfortable?" Sonic asked.

"I dunno... you hugged me, put your arm around me... people could have considered that... romantic." I trailed off, feeling awkward even talking about that. Because of me, everyone in the Haunted House probably thought that we were a couple.

"...Josh, I can't believe you'd even think that!." Sonic crossed his arms and looked at me sternly. I looked at the ground.

"I know. Look, I'm so-"

"Why would I get romantically involved with my little brother?" I suddenly looked up at him. He was smiling.

"...You seriously consider me your little brother?" I tried to see if he was lying. His eyes weren't shifting.

"Course I do. Why wouldn't I?" Sonic put his arms down. "I said I didn't mind back when we first met, remember?" Still no sign of him lying. He looked comfortable.

"I thought you just said that so you wouldn't hurt my feelings." I pressed on, trying to catch him in the act. I needed to make sure he was telling the truth. If he was, and something happened to him, it would be like my parents all over again.

"Josh," Sonic walked over to me and put a hand on my shoulder. He looked me square in the eye. "I would never lie to you like that. I've barely gotten to know you, and I like the person I see. You would do anything for your little brother. You try to treat people with respect. Except Knuckles, but, no one does really." He snickered a bit, and I let out a small giggle. "I couldn't be more proud to be called your big brother. I don't want to let anything happen to you."

He was telling the truth.

I smiled.

"Thank you." I didn't know what else to say. I never really thought he took the brother thing seriously. I honestly thought he just considered it cute and shrugged it off.

"Now come on. Let's get out of here." Sonic said.

"Yes, let's." I said enthusiastically, wanting to get away from the House of Horror.

"Oh, and don't look behind you." Sonic said, turning and looking at something behind me. I stiffened.

"...Whyyyy?" I asked, getting very, very, very nervous.

"Uh, no reason, just keep walking." Sonic grabbed my wrist and started to walk, with me in tow. And I was very, very, very, very, veeeeeeery careful not to look behind me. I don't care what sort of creature was following me, I didn't want to see it.

…...

"Sonic, is it gone?" I asked after we had walked a ways away.

"Should be." Sonic turned his head around as I did.

Let's just say he was wrong.

"Oh man, I didn't think they were allowed to go that far away from the house." Sonic laughed a bit. "That was kinda scary."

"No kidding." A small voice from a nearby trashcan whimpered. Sonic pulled me out and dusted off the garbage as best he could. "Looks like Stilts has a thing for us." I said, watching the clown rampage back to the house.

"Stilts?" Sonic looked at the clown. "You named him?"

"Things are less scary when they have weird names I think. Not creepy weird names though, just funny weird names." I started thinking. "Although, you know what would be scary is if a clown named Stilts had stilts with sword blades or something on the bottom and he went on a killing spree." Sonic gave me a "What the heck?" look.

"So... you can't go through a haunted house on your own, but you came up with that." Sonic crossed his arms.

"Hey, I can control what happens if it's in my head. That, and I went through a bit of a dark stage when I was younger." I shuddered thinking back to my dark period. Fun for the whole family, let me tell ya. All Sonic did was stare at me for a bit more before continuing on.

"So where are we on time?" Sonic asked.

"Well," I checked a clock, "The most terrifying 10 hours of my life took just about 30 minutes. It's about 7:40."

"So, what do you wanna do for an hour and twenty minutes?" Sonic put his hands behind his head and looked at me.

"Scout around for clues, eat, meet the cast, eat, relax my injuries, eat, and, oh yes, eat." I walked over to a food booth and bought whatever they were selling. "Fried ice cream?" I handed Sonic a small round ball of fried goodness from the bag I bought.

"They can fry ice cream?" Sonic investigated the ball before popping it into his mouth.

"It's something to do with the batter I think. I don't know." I ate one. "It's good right?"

"Yeah, it's rare when I want something more than a chili dog." Sonic grabbed another one and ate it.

"This isn't going to be a new food fetish is it?"

"Why? What's wrong with liking this?"

"You're going to be eating this and chili dogs everyday for the rest of your life! There's going to be a point where you're too old to run and work off all of the extra calories."

"Please, I'll always be running!"

"We'll see. I can see it now, 'Sonic Geezers,' where you try to beat Eggman at checkers and Shadow at Gin Rummy."

"Nah, I don't think so."

…...

We spent a bit too much time eating, and not enough time looking for clues. By the time we realized we needed to get going, it was already 8:30.

"We have thirty minutes to find something that can help us." I said, panicking.

"What do you expect to find anyway? We're looking for where a Chaos Emerald is on someone's body, not who killed Mr. X." Sonic said.

"I don't know, maybe a receipt of some kind from the tailors, or a needle and thread." I saw what I assumed to be Blitz's trailer and started hurrying towards it.

"You still think it's hidden in his pocket?" Sonic hurried after me.

"A magician tries to distract his audience from his dirty work. He tried to make sticking a hand in his pocket seem like a natural pose, but when I accused him of hiding the Emerald in his pocket, he pulled his hand out fast, as if something bit him. He realized it was noticeable and he self-consciously corrected it. If it were his natural pose, he probably would have at least looked at his hand before removing it, or else he wouldn't have done anything." I finished.

"How did you know that?" Sonic looked at me wide eyed.

"...I watch a lot of T.V." I walked a bit faster.

…...

I knocked on the trailer door.

"Why are you knocking, I thought we were going to sneak in?" Sonic looked at me like I had a screw loose.

"I don't want to break in if he's home. Now shush, remember, bats have great hearing!" I checked all of the windows. No one seemed to be in. "He's gone. Do you know how to pick a lock?" I looked at Sonic expectantly.

"Don't you have a plan to get in?" Sonic asked.

"I was just glad to get this far!" I replied.

"Well, maybe the door's unlocked." Sonic walked over to the door.

"Oh please, that only happens in crime comedies and really bad fanfiction."

…...

"Do you feel like we're being watched." Sonic teased, looking through Blitz's dresser.

"Shut up." I sifted through the garbage can, looking for anything that could help us. "Nothing in the trash can."

"I don't see any sort of hidden lining in the pockets." Sonic closed the dresser.

"Then I guess this was all a wa-"

"Shh..." Sonic slowly crossed to the window and looked outside. "Josh, hide, Blitz is coming!"

"No, let's just try to get out, now!" I said running to the door.

"He's coming from the front, he'll see you leave!" Sonic locked the door. "Get behind that plant!" A small tree was growing in the corner. I ran behind and tried to hide behind the branches. Sonic quickly got behind the couch.

The doorknob jiggled.

Some mumbling.

Keys entered the lock.

The door slowly opened.

Blitz stepped inside and shut the door behind him. He sighed and took off his top hat.

"Well, that was exhausting." He said. He took a moment as if he was listening. "I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it, I'm just saying that it was really tiring. There were so many people today." He listened for a bit more. "You're right, it was worth it. I just need a little rest I guess. I'm a bit on edge. That human almost discovered you. If he took you from me, I'd be ruined. My career would be down the drain." He sat down on the couch. "Sorry, I know you don't like it when I gripe. Here, we both need some rest." He started to move, when his ear twitched. "Who's there?!" Blitz quickly stood up and looked around the trailer. "I can hear you breathing." I looked at Sonic behind the couch. We both held our breaths.

And we waited.

Blitz slowly paced the trailer, cocking his head from side to side, listening for any sound. I quickly realized that I would soon be unable to hold my breath. I looked at Sonic with panic in my eyes. He looked back with worry. Any second now, I would probably be in big trouble. My lungs screamed for air. I needed to take a breath.

I was saved by a knock on the door.

Blitz took one last look around the room before answering it and stepping out. I took a huge gulp of air.

"That was too close." Sonic stood up and checked the window. "Come on, let's get out of here."

"Well, this wasn't a total waste." I said stepping out of the trailer. "We know for a fact that he's hiding the Emerald on him. Now we just have to figure out where."

"Can't we just demand it out of him?" Sonic asked. "We know he has it."

"How do we know Sonic." I asked.

"We heard him while he was talking to it... in his trailer." Sonic realized.

"Exactly. We can't let him know we broke in now. The only thing we can do is to beat him at his own game."

"What is his game exactly?"

"A magician... I think."

"I guess we'll find out at the show. What time is it?" Sonic looked at a clock. 8:55. "Come on, let's get out of here. We've got a show to see." I nodded and we headed towards the circus tent.

"I feel like this could have been resolved a lot easier if we just beat him up." I said, thinking aloud.

"He really hasn't done anything evil, I don't see why we should." Sonic shrugged. "By the way, I'm having a hard time getting a hold of your logic."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I'm still not sure how knowing where he hides the Emerald will help us get it."

"Didn't I explain this part to you?" I looked a Sonic, who shook his head. "We pick-pocket him." I replied, a mischievous grin spreading across my face.

**Josh: ...Yeah, the plan is weird, but JJ doesn't really do his best writing when he's sick.**

**JJ: I hearb dat!**

**Josh: Just go back to bed! Okay, so JJ wanted me to tell you guys that, with school starting, he won't be able to write as many chapters as he did. He will try to post as many as he can, but don't expect a whole ton. Homework comes first. See you guys around!**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

**JJ: Hello again everyone!**

**Josh: Didja miss me?**

**JJ: No. It's time for the long awaited Chapter 16! Sorry, I really haven't been able to get to my computer a whole ton. I'm taking a bunch of college classes, and so, they come with college sized homework. Yaaaaay.**

**Josh: I used to do homework. Then I got sent to Mobius. You should try it some time.**

**JJ: Why would I? You're there!**

**Josh: Ooh, touchy!**

**JJ: OOOoooh, backspace.**

**Josh: Shutting up.**

**JJ: ...So, about Chapters and such. I promise, I will never quit on this story. This is my baby now. I love writing and seeing how you guys like it! (Thank you so much for the review by the way! They mean a ton!) However, the chapters will be few and far between. I really don't have much time for writing, so they'll be posted when they'll be posted. Just check back every now and then. Okay, that's enough from me, have fun guys!**

"Wow, the place is packed!" Sonic yelled over the crowd. The circus tent was filled to capacity, with everyone, from the young to the elderly filing into the seats.

"Are you sure you've never heard of these guys?" I yelled back to Sonic.

"You've never heard of the amazing Blitz?!" A man in front of us turned and looked at us with shock. "He's only the most amazing magician to ever set foot on Mobius!" The man shook his head as if me and Sonic were living under rocks for most of our lives.

"To answer your question, no..." Sonic told me. "Although I'm getting the feeling I should have." We both awkwardly shuffled to a seat and sat down.

"Why haven't you heard of him?" I asked Sonic. "You've been everywhere, you should have at least caught word of him!"

"I don't know! Something's up!" Sonic scanned the increasing audience. Out of nowhere, a loud booming voice echoed across the tent.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages! Introducing, Blitz and his amazing traveling circus!" The crowd erupted into cheers as the lights dimmed. A thick layer of smoke filled the stage.

"That smoke..." The green spirit spoke up. "It's filled with Chaos Energy! Don't breath it!"

"Sonic, don't breath the smoke!" I yelled. He nodded, and we both held our breath. A mysterious music started playing.

"Welcome everyone." Blitz's voice filled the stadium. "I hope you've been enjoying your day," The tent suddenly went pitch black. "Because it's about to get a whole lot better!" Four spotlights turned on and swirled around the stage. I checked around to see if the smoke had cleared, which it luckily had. I took a deep breath, as did Sonic, and watched the spotlights. They all made their way to the center of a stage, but there was no one there. "Ahem, up here!" The spotlights all moved up to one of the upper corners of the tent. "No, here!" They moved again, focusing on the wall at our back. "Keep going." The spotlights slowly made their way into the audience. "Keeeeeeep going!" Blitz coaxed the spotlights on until they rested on me. I looked around, as the audience laughed.

"What's so funny?" I looked over to Sonic. He chuckled a bit and pointed up. I instinctively looked up and yelped.

"How ya doin'?" Blitz was hovering above me, hands planted on his hips. He winked at me before flying down to the center of the tent. He held his hands toward the audience. "How's everyone doing tonight?" He yelled, to which he was answered by thunderous applause. He turned in a slow circle, soaking in the energy of the crowd. "Are you ready for a great show?" He asked once again. The audience roared with excitement as the lights came on, revealing that Blitz was surrounded by performers and animals of all kinds. I tried not to be too enthusiastic, but I couldn't help but feel a bit caught up in the madness. It was all so glitzy! I found myself cheering for the charismatic ring leader.

"You must be careful!" The Green Spirit scorned. "I feel the same Chaos Energy from before inside of you! You must have breathed in some of that smoke!"

"I don't see what the big deal is." I thought back. "I'm not feeling any different."

"..." The spirit went quiet. I rolled my eyes and turned my attention to the clown act that just started.

…...

"And now ladies and gentlemen, the moment you've all been waiting for!" An announcer boomed over the speakers. The audience screamed! The excitement in the air was electric! While I was not as enthusiastic, I still clapped and cheered with the audience. I felt Sonic touch my shoulder.

"Dude, calm down!" He told me. I looked at him like he was crazy.

"I am calm! I'm not that crazy, am I?" I asked.

"You kinda are." He said, sitting me back down... I didn't even realize I stood up.

"Sorry, I guess I got a bit carried away." I shook my head like I was trying to snap out of something. Blitz had long since gone to the stage and started to do a trick. He took off his hat and put a white handkerchief into it. He snapped his fingers, and a flock of doves shot out of the hat! It never seemed to stop spitting out the small white birds! "Woah! Are you seeing this?!" I yelled to Sonic.

"A dove flew out of his hat. I've seen it tons of times before." Sonic shrugged.

"Uh, more than _a_ dove Sonic! More like a whole population!" I said, looking at all of the birds above my head.

"Josh, there's only one dove." Sonic looked at me with concern.

"No, there's-" The flock of doves seemed to almost glitch, as they suddenly disappeared, leaving a single dove in its place. "...What just happened?" I was astonished. "Is it part of the trick?" I rubbed my eyes and stared up again. Still only one dove. I looked around the audience to see if anyone else was as confused as I was.

"What's wrong with the audience?" Sonic looked with me. "It's like they've never seen a magician pull something out of a hat!"

"...That's not it." I had a feeling I knew what was going on. I leaved over to the man next to me. I tried to sound as amazed as possible. "How many doves do you think are up there?" I asked him.

"I don't know! Hundreds maybe!" The man gasped and held out his hand, as if he were holding something. "Look at that!" The man said, pointing to his empty hand. "How'd he train them to do that?" He asked a girl next to him. The girl laughed and shrugged her shoulders. The whole audience had their hands out.

"Everyone saw the same thing I did." I told Sonic. "An illusion that a whole flock of doves flew out of Blitz's hat."

"How? And why didn't I?" Sonic asked me.

"..." I thought back to everything that had happened during the show. Clowns, Elephants, Announcer, Smoke... Smoke! "Sonic, how long did you hold your breath?"

"Until Blitz appeared above your head. Why?"

"I didn't. Neither did anyone else." It all made sense. He had somehow made a gas that created illusions when breathed. "Sonic, describe the next few tricks to me. I think a dose of reality breaks the illusion."

"For my next trick, I need a volunteer!" Blitz called out to the audience. Sonic quickly grabbed my hand and threw it up in the air.

"What are you doing?" I asked a stupid question.

"Volunteering you!" I got a stupid answer. "You can get close and see where he hides his Chaos Emerald!" I nodded and waved my hand like I was super excited! It was hard to make it above the crowd, but I felt relieved when I heard Blitz ask for the young man in the white shirt. I made my way down, and the crowd went silent.

"Oh come now!" Blitz turned to the audience. "What's wrong? Why don't you applaud for this young man?"

"He's... weird looking!" Someone called out sheepishly. I blushed and looked down.

"What's with those blue circles around his eyes?" A lady called out. I self-consciously reached up and touched my bruises and black eyes.

"He's a freak!" One man yelled! "He's not like any of us! He's... furless!" The crowd followed the mans lead and started to call me all sorts of mean names. Had everyone thought of me like that when I passed them? I remembered back to when I first came here. Everyone usually did give me some weird stares. In the city, at the hotel, in Casino Park, around the circus... I was pretty odd looking. All I really wanted to do now was leave the tent and go find some place to hide myself.

"He is not a freak!" Blitz yelled to the audience. "He is a special guest. Show them your ticket." He instructed me. I pulled my ticket out of my pocket and held it up to the audience. The audience immediately shut up. After some silence, people started to apologize, until the whole tent was filled with applause.

"See? Just because he looks a bit different, doesn't mean he isn't a good person! Although, those bruises do make you a bit sore on the eyes..." Blitz waved his hands at me. A small puff of smoke came from his sleeves. I silently held my breath as the smoke enveloped me. When it cleared, the audience broke into thunderous applause. I looked at my body and gasped. Not only my injuries were gone...

I had fur.

I was covered with orange fur! I had on a new pair of white gloves! I looked behind me and saw a tail that looked a bit like Tails' tail. Blitz conjured up a mirror and held it up to my face. My hair stayed the same, but all of my other features were that of a fox. I turned to look at Sonic, who shook his head. The illusion glitched once again, leaving me the way I was, injured and furless. I looked at Blitz.

"What do you think?" He asked me. I considered telling him that I didn't see anything, but thought otherwise. If I told him, he might kick me out.

"I love it! I'll fit right in! I don't feel like a freak anymore!" I told him, trying to sound as excited as possible.

"I never considered you one!" Blitz told me. If I didn't know about the illusion, I might have believed that. However, under the circumstances, I noticed his voice sounded a bit too happy. His eyes shifted slightly to the left before focusing on me again. He didn't even look me in the eyes. He was lying. "Now, how about we get on with the show!" He conjured up a pack of cards. "Pick a card, any card!" He told me, handing me the deck. I looked through and chose one. The seven of diamonds. "Put the card on the pad here, this will project the image onto the tent walls. I'm going to blindfold myself so I can't see your selection." He put on a sleeping mask. I flicked my finger at his eye a few times to make sure he couldn't see, and I put my card on a small pedestal that had risen out of the center of the stage. A large projection shone onto the tent walls, showing my card. I took it off the pedestal and put the card back in the deck. Blitz took off his blindfold. "Well, I was going to tell you to put the card back, but it seems you're one step ahead of me. Alright, now I'm going to find your card."

"Okay, sorry to interrupt, but isn't this a bit small scale for a big circus like yours?" I asked him. The audience let out an oooh, as if I just insulted him or something.

"Not to worry my young friend. Bring out the wheel!" Blitz called off stage. A bunch of stage hands brought out a large wooden wheel with each card printed on one section. Blitz conjured up a throwing knife and made a go ahead motion to the stage hands. They all grabbed a peg on the wheel and gave it a spin. Blitz focused on the wheel for a bit before sending the knife flying at the wheel. The wheel came to a stop to reveal he had hit the seven of diamonds... but I knew better. I looked at Sonic, who once again shook his head no. I looked back at the wheel to see the knife had actually hit the Ace of Spades. The knife was embedded right in the center of the Ace though. Brownie points for accuracy. The audience suddenly erupted into cheers as another projection showed which card he landed on. The audience saw my card.

"Is this your card?" Blitz asked me. I started to scan his clothes, looking for any Chaos Emerald shaped lumps. Pocket... no. Vest... nothing. Shirt... zip. The only place left had to be... I suddenly had an idea. I was close enough, that this might work.

Actually, I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier.

I quickly held my ring up to Blitz. It glowed a bright yellow. "Uh, w-what are you doing?" He asked confusedly, with a hint of nervousness. I slowly brought the ring up to his top hat. The ring glowed the brightest it had ever glowed before. Bingo.

"Nope, that's the Ace of Spades. My card was the seven of diamonds." I reached up and knocked off the top hat, revealing the Chaos Emerald. It fell off and hit the floor. "You had me fooled when we first met. That was clever, trying to get me to focus so much on your pockets."

"W-what do you mean?" Blitz asked, backing away from me. The crowd was quiet.

"I mean you've been cheating. You aren't doing real magic. You're just pretending to. The Chaos Emerald you have there has been creating a mist that, when inhaled, makes people hallucinate."

"Stop right there!" Blitz yelled at me.

"I'm not finished yet." I told him, smirking.

"I said stop!" Blitz said frantically.

"Get it through your head, I'm not going to stop!" I said back. Blitz sighed.

"Audience, go home." He said dejectedly. As a group, the audience rose and started to leave the tent, all except for Sonic that is. I watched in awe and confusion as the audience left. They all had a blank look on their face. Sonic joined me up front while Blitz picked up his hat and the Emerald.

"Congratulations." He looked at us with disgust. "You've figured out my secret."

"Hypnotism?" Sonic asked.

"Yes, hypnotism." Blitz replied. "How long did it take you to figure that one out?"

"Look, Blitz, all we need is the Emerald. Then, when we're done, I can give it back to you, okay?" I said, trying to reason with him. Blitz shook his head.

"Do you think I would give this Emerald away that easily?!" He sounded like he was insane. As he talked, his voice got louder and louder. "I cheat people out of their money everyday, making them believe that I am a master magician! When really, all I need to do is some basic card tricks, and make a bunny appear out of a hat!"

"Yeah, why do you have to do that?" I asked.

"Don't interrupt me!" Blitz screamed. "The power only works if the audience sees something!" He was barely making sense. "Not only circus, but casino too! Just one whiff, and I won the lottery! I make people happy! I make me rich! No one can stop me!" Blitz started to rise into the air, laughing like a mad man. Funny thing was, he wasn't flapping his wings. "No one will take away my happy!" He sounded insane. He looked at me and Sonic with flashing yellow eyes. "No one!"

"He's filled with Chaos Power!" The Green Spirit shrieked. "He has unleashed a dark energy! You must be careful!"

"No really?!" I yelled back as Blitz swooped towards me and Sonic. We jumped out of the way as he pulled out two knives and swiped at us. Sonic managed to dodge it, but he managed to give me a small scratch on my arm. "Careful, he's good with those knives!" I yelled to Sonic.

"How good?" Sonic yelled back. I gestured toward the card wheel to show him where the knife was embedded. Sonic didn't look to impressed. "So he can hit a piece of wood. Betcha he can't get me!" Sonic gave me a thumbs up. I smiled, then looked back at Blitz... just in time to jump out of the way of a knife. It landed right where my right foot used to be.

"Yeah, but what about me?!" I yelled back in a slight panic. Sonic quickly look from Blitz to me before running over and grabbing me by the hand. He dashed off with me in tow as a barrage of knives came flying at us. I looked to see Blitz creating another knife out of thin air. "He has unlimited ammunition! We won't be able to tire him out!" I yelled in alarm.

"We'll worry about him later, let's just get you somewhere safe!" Sonic yelled to me. He started running for the tent flap.

"Wait Sonic, maybe I can help!" I yelled before we ran out.

"No, it's too dangerous!" Sonic yelled. Just before we made it out, a knife landed right in front of us. We both quickly got behind two of the wooden support beams that were holding up the tent.

"Sonic, I can do things!" I yelled, wanting to help.

"Like what?" Sonic yelled as his pole started to vibrate from the knives being embedded into the wood. Mine started to shake as well.

"I don't know!" I yelled back. Then, out of nowhere, a large knife sailed clean through the wood of my pole, narrowly missing my head. I stared at the hole in the tent the knife made before quickly running to Sonic's pole. "Bait maybe?" I asked as yet another large knife sailed through, just missing Sonic's arm. The pole snapped in half and fell over. Sonic quickly pulled me over to the next one. That's when I got an idea. "Sonic, I can be live bait!"

"What?! No way! I'm getting you out of here!" Sonic started to grab my wrist.

"No wait! If I get Blitz to-" We were interrupted by another large knife, this time going right between me and Sonic's faces. We quickly ran to the next one. "If I can get Blitz to snap all of the poles, the tent will fall on him. You can beat him up a bit beforehand to weaken him." I quickly grabbed one of the smaller knives littering the ground. "We can cut our way out then grab Blitz when he's covered in the canvas. It should be easy to get the Emerald at that point." I finished. Another large knife came through, flying right between Sonic's ears.

"I hope you know what you're doing!" Sonic yelled as he rushed into battle. I quickly got behind another column and peeked around. From the look of things, the larger knives took a while to make, as I could see on slowly appearing in the air beside Blitz. The smaller knives however appeared in a flash. Luckily, Sonic had no trouble maneuvering around them. Sonic quickly jumped up and performed a homing attack, hitting Blitz square in the head. The yellow bat growled before snapping his fingers. A large box appeared on the stage and Sonic was quickly sucked inside. Something told me this wasn't an illusion, as eight small slits appeared on each side, and a rather large sword started to materialize in front of one of them. I could hear Sonic beating the sides of the box as he yelled from within.

"Must destroy thief!" Blitz growled. "Will not take happiness!" He laughed maniacally before sending yet another large knife towards me. I ducked as the sword sailed past me, smashing through the pillar. I ducked behind the next one. I looked around the tent, taking a quick count. There were still at least five left! Looking around though, it didn't look like the tent should still be up the way it was. Normally, at least half of the tent would be on the ground, but it still seemed to be in perfect condition. I touched the walls, expecting canvas, but instead finding something almost like concrete. I looked around, as realization dawned on me. The tent was meant to be able to support itself in case some of the beams broke. Hopefully. It could just be the tent is supporting itself, but I certainly hoped not. Another knife whizzed past, this time finding its mark. It grazed my arm, drawing blood. I hissed in pain as I held my arm. I quickly made my way to the next column. Four more to go. I checked my injury. It wasn't too deep, but I might need some stitches after this.

I checked the box to see that the first sword cut into Sonic's box. I heard a small yelp. The second sword started to form. I held my breath, waiting for a sound to tell me that Sonic was alive. I was relieved to hear more banging on the box.

A small crumbling sound interrupted my thoughts. I looked up to see a crack form where the last pillar once stood. It increased in length a bit, causing some rubble to fall. If Blitz noticed it, the plan could be ruined. I quickly ran in front of the column and waved my arms.

"Hey, over here! I'm going to come take your Emerald!" I called out. Blitz stopped and looked confused. I sighed. "Your... happiness?" I tried, seeing if it would register. The sudden flurry of knives answered my call. I quickly got out of the way of most of the knives (two scratched me again and another drew blood) and hid behind the column again. Okay, showing myself to Blitz, not a good idea.

I heard yet another sword plunge into Sonic's box. I looked to see that the swords were appearing faster each time, yet the knives I was using to cut down the pillars seemed to be going the same speed as they were before. Luckily, he had just finished making the next knife, which came sailing at me. I dashed as fast as I could to the next column. Three to go.

A quick look at the box Sonic was in revealed we could be in trouble soon. Already five of the swords were sticking into the box, with a sixth on the way. From the look of things, Sonic would have to be very lucky to survive all eight. The sixth plunged in, accompanying with it a flurry of footsteps. He was still alive. I turned my attention back to Blitz. What was making those swords appear so fast? Did he consider Sonic more of a threat than me? If so, would making me more dangerous speed up his attacks at me and slow down Sonic's? Worth a shot! I quickly went around the column and did my best to taunt him.

"Uh, yeah, bat guy, come get me!" I yelled shakily. Okay, not a great first attempt, but it served its purpose. Many small projectiles came flying at me. I quickly grabbed two, one in each hand, and tried to hit Blitz with one. It sailed in the completely wrong direction. I looked at the box Sonic was held in to see that the eighth and final sword was quickly forming. I quickly dodged another barrage of knives (I was getting better at the dodging thing) and threw my other knife as hard as I could. The small silver blade flew through the air and hit Blitz's arm. It didn't sink in or anything, but it definitely cut him. He grabbed his arm and growled at me. Before I knew it, his barrage of attacks at me quickened, while the eighth sword, which was near completion, slowed down. I quickly got in front of a column and ducked, dodging the large knife as it whistled past my head. The column fell, as I moved to the second to last column.

"Come on, you throw like my great grandma!" I taunted Blitz. I was getting better. Pretty generic taunt, but it was a start. Blitz roared and sent thousands of tiny little needles in my direction. I quickly got behind the column, but not before feeling a couple of stings on my right arm. I saw that a few needles had embedded themselves in my arm. After a painful attempt to pull one out, I figured the best thing to do would be to let the doctor take care of this one. I was too busy viewing my various injuries to notice that the column had just crumbled. A large piece hit me squarely on the head. I got an extreme headache, almost to the point that I could have been unconscious. The world blurred a bit as I dizzily staggered to the last column. The loud cracking coming from above me confirmed that this battle would soon be over. I shook my head to snap out of my brief confusion and turned to Sonic's box. My eyes widened as extreme fear took over.

The last sword started to lower.

The world seemed to go in slow motion as instinct took over. I ran to the box as quickly as I could. Blitz called down a cascade of projectiles, ranging from incredibly tiny needles to daggers the size of my hand. I ran as fast as I could, as I heard and felt the weapons whizz over, next to, and into me. I didn't feel the pain. I had to get my friend out of the box. I took cover behind the box and took a moment to breathe. The world went back to speed as pain set back in. My hand instinctively went to the biggest source of pain, a large knife embedded in my side. I pulled my hand away to see that I was bleeding, pretty badly. I pushed past the pain as best as I could, and stumbled around the box, trying to find some way to open it. I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off, until a now familiar sound brought my attention to one side of the box.

The sound of metal sliding on wood.

I was too late.

I pressed my head against the box, listening for any movement. I tried to yell out to Sonic, but a sharp pain told me that it wasn't happening any time soon. I didn't hear anything. There was still a chance he was alive I reminded myself. Maybe he just couldn't move because he was pinned between the swords. He's fine. I staggered back into view of Blitz. I lurched toward the last column trying my hardest to run. Blitz saw me and once again started to fire at me. I felt more than saw many more projectiles embed into my body. My arm mainly, but a few needles landed in the side of my face. The large knife was almost ready, and you could almost guarantee he was going to throw that as soon as he got it. I kept my goal focused. I was close.

15 feet.

14 feet.

I took everything one step at a time.

10 feet.

9 feet.

I felt more pain than I ever had in my life. It was slowing me down.

5 feet.

4 feet.

Blitz grabbed the large knife and threw it.

3 feet.

2 feet.

I ducked as the knife flew over me and landed on the ground. I wasn't fast enough. I rushed as fast as I could the final foot to the column and hid behind it. I checked my arm. Luckily, I managed to miss the bigger knives and only got hit by the needles. However, there were more than I could count, and I was losing too much blood. I began to get light headed. There was no way I could hack through the wood on my own. I would have to wait.

"You are losing too much blood!" The Green Spirit cried. "You will be dead in 2 minutes! You must retrieve my brother and make a wish before that happens!" I turned and watched the large knife charge. It was close to being complete. Perhaps a minute more.

"I can make it." I told her, struggling to stay on my feet a bit.

"Are you sure?" She asked worriedly.

"I can make it!" I yelled a bit in my head. I looked around one more time, and saw the knife soar through the air. It crashed through the column. Then, a large crack spread throughout the tent, causing it to slowly crumble. As quickly as I could, I made my way to the exit, dodging falling debris. I turned to see Blitz about to throw a knife at me, when a large chunk of concrete hit him, knocking him to the ground and leaving him unconscious. I went outside to see not a crumbling tent, but a crumbling warehouse. The cobblestone walkways and shops that had once lined the outside of the tent had all vanished. Another illusion. There was never a circus. It was just a man who wanted money. I felt my face drain as my knees gave up and I fell to the ground. I crawled on all fours as I made my way into the debris to look for Blitz and the Emerald. It didn't take me long. Blitz groaned slightly as I pulled my way over to him. The life slowly drained from me and I felt myself losing consciousness. The world went from color, to black, to color again, as I got closer and closer to my goal. I collapsed next to Blitz and shakily grabbed his hat. I turned it over, and the golden Yellow Emerald fell out with a clink. It hurt too much to breath now. With one final gasp, I reached for the Emerald. It had rolled too far for me to grab, but if I could just touch it. I reached as far as I could before collapsing. I didn't know if I had touched it or not, but the last thought I had in my head before the world went dark, was "I wish I was healed."

The Yellow Emerald started to glow, as a soothing feeling rushed through my body. The world slowly came back, bit by bit, color by color. When the world seemed filled in enough, I looked around. I was sitting in a huge pile of gray cinder block. Well, crumbled cinder block, the whole complex we were in was gone. I looked to see Blitz, no longer yellow, but brown! He still wore all of his clothes, and he was still unconscious. I saw his chest slowly rise and fall, indicating that he was breathing. A quick check of his pulse revealed that he was alive.

Alive? Why did that remind me of-

Sonic!

I quickly ran over to the large box, and looked for a handle. I found one, and, after removing the two swords lodged in this side of the wood, opened the door as quickly as I could.

"Sonic!" I looked inside, fearing the worst.

"Josh! You're alive!" Sonic held statue still, balancing on only one foot, with swords barely missing him on all sides.

"Hold on, I'll get you out!" I quickly ran to each side of the box and pulled the remaining six swords out. After the final sword, I ran to the opening. Sonic quickly grabbed me and pulled me into a tight hug, which I returned.

"I couldn't hear anything out there! I thought he killed you!" Sonic told me.

"I thought he killed you!" I said near tears. We held each other for a long time, both of us relieved that the other was alright. After a while, Sonic looked around.

"Josh, what did you do?" Sonic asked, sounding amazed.

"I collapsed a circus tent." I said, pulling away. "Well, it was actually a giant warehouse, but we were under the illusion that it was a tent. The whole place was fake."

"And Blitz? Is he...?" Sonic trailed off as a small moan came a few yards from where we were standing.

"W-what happened?" Blitz rubbed the back of his head, then looked around him. His eyes widened. "Oh no." He looked at us. "Oh no oh no oh no! What have I done?!" Blitz stood up and walked towards us. "I am so sorry! I don't know what happened! I just went berserk! Did I get you badly?" Blitz asked, looking at me.

"Does it look like you did?" I turned and showed him my body. Blitz sighed.

"I thought I landed a dagger in your side." He said, rubbing his temple as if he had a headache.

"A what?" Sonic looked at me.

"Don't worry, I'm fine." I told both of them. "However, you have some explaining to do. Why were you trying to cheat people out of their money?" I looked at Blitz sternly.

"I didn't start out that way!" Blitz sat down and put his head in his hands. "I just wanted to make people happy! But then I saw that I could make people see whatever they wanted to see, and make them do whatever I wanted to do! I got so much money! I started to cheat at casinos, swindling people on the streets, and, of course, setting up this circus. I got power hungry!" He shook his head. His voice was cracking, on the verge of tears. "I didn't want this to happen! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!" He shook, as the tears flowed from him. He sobbed for a while before looking at us. "Will you please forgive me?" I looked at Sonic. He nodded.

"We forgive you." Sonic said.

"T-Thank you!" Blitz continued crying for a while, before standing up and abruptly flying off.

"...Well...that was...interesting." I said, thinking about the events.

"Okay, most of what he said made sense, but why did he turn into a monster?" Sonic asked.

"May I?" A new voice asked. The world suddenly disappeared in a flash of yellow.

…...

When everything cleared, I was standing in the middle of a theme park, full of happy children, teenagers, and adults. The weird thing was, there were both humans and Mobians running around.

"Over here." The voice called. I turned to see a white hedgehog with yellow stripes running through his quills. He looked at me with kind eyes before motioning me over to a small bench. I nodded and sat down. "It's beautiful isn't it?" He asked me, looking around at all the happy faces. His voice was sunny, kind, and joyful. "A place where everyone can be happy all the time. No one is sad in my domain." He exclaimed. A young boy, a human, barely four years old, approached the hedgehog and looked at him expectantly. The hedgehog smiled, and clapped his hands. A red balloon appeared in the boys hand. The young boy giggled and stared at the balloon as the sun shone through it.

"...Are you the spirit of the Yellow Emerald?" I asked, staring at the hedgehog with a mixture of curiosity and amusement. He nodded before sending the young boy off to his parents.

"Indeed I am. You must be Josh." The hedgehog turned back to me. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. Now, onto more pressing matters." He swung one leg over the other and put his hands on his laugh. "What happened Blitz. That creature you saw was the embodiment of his selfishness. It was a projection of his desires. Since what he wanted was ugly and selfish, the creature was ugly and selfish."

"Why did it happen though? Did you cause it?" I asked.

"Yes and no. To make this easier to explain, think of the creature to be Blitz's 'super form,' much like how Sonic turns into Super Sonic. In a time of need, you can call on the power of the Emeralds to gain power."

"I thought you needed all seven for that."

"You would if we weren't supercharged with emotion. At that time, I was incredibly charged because of all the joy that Blitz was causing, even if it was in a state of hypnosis. That power was enough to cause Blitz to turn into 'Super Blitz,' albeit with weaker powers than if he did have all seven emeralds." The Yellow Spirit waved at a young chipmunk who waved back happily.

"...So, could I essentially have that happen to me?" I asked. "Could I be in danger of going berserk?"

"With you, I doubt it. Your goal in itself is pure, there aren't many ways you could put a selfish twist on it. So, unless you could find a way to turn finding your brother into something corrupt, you will be safe."

"What if I turned into a good thing, like 'Super Josh?'" I asked again, making air quotes in the air.

"...I doubt that will happen either. Your body simply can't handle Chaos Power of that extent. Your friend Sonic puts himself in danger when he turns into Super Sonic, as it slowly saps away his energy. If you were to put yourself through that, you would not make it for very long. Which is why you must avoid changing, whether for good or bad, at all costs." The Spirit stared at me firmly. "It would be catastrophic, not only to you, but to those around you."

"What do you mean, 'those around me?'" I looked at the Spirit confusedly. He sat quietly for a minute before answering.

"Let's hope you don't find out." He turned away from me, looking rather pale, which was saying something, considering he was already white. He was quiet for a moment longer before he spoke again. "Your wish to be healed will not count against you, so you will still have two wishes. However, you will have to give me some time before you make the wish. I am weary." He waved his hand and the world flashed away again.

…...

I awoke, expecting to be on the ground like last time. I was somewhat surprised to find myself sitting upright, leaning against a tree. Sonic stood nearby.

"You okay?" He asked when he saw I was awake.

"I don't have a bump the size of a volleyball if that's what your asking. Did you catch me?" I asked.

"What do you think?" Sonic replied.

"I think I levitated over here and plopped myself down next to this tree because you were too lazy to catch me." I said, crossing my arms teasingly.

"Oh gee thanks!" Sonic pulled me up and slugged me in the arm. I laughed as I rubbed the pain away. "So, what'd you learn this time?" Sonic asked me.

"Blitz turned into a manifestation of his own greed, I have two wishes, and I should never ever turn into Super Josh or a monster." I said, as if that made any sense. Sonic stared at me blankly. I laughed again. "I'll explain on the way back to the hotel." Sonic smiled.

"You're just gonna bring me trouble, you know that?" He said.

"Why's that?" I asked.

"It's barely been a week and you've already needed me to save you twice, gone unconscious for more than thirty minutes at a time, and come to you start rambling about monsters and wishes." Sonic crossed his arms and shook his head. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Oh come on. You know you love me." I flashed him a cheesy grin, to which he laughed at.

"Let's get out of here bud." He said. We both started walking back to the hotel.

"You still need to tell me about that 'dagger in the side' thing Blitz was talking about." Sonic said.

"Oh yeah..." I replied.

And so, we got our first Emerald! We're one step closer! Ooh, I'm so excited, I can't sleep! I know I need to, so I'll try. You know, eventually. Okay, I better turn this off. End of entry three!

**Josh: Oh yeah! I beat up a bad guy, I beat up a bad guy!**

**JJ: Technically, the giant concrete building beat up the bad guy.**

**Josh: Well at least I was involved! Can you say you did that?**

**JJ: Backspace.**

**Josh: Shutting up.**

**JJ: ...Okay, so anyways, this week, I want to do something special. If you have any questions for me, whether it be about the story, my inspiration, myself, or whatever else pops into your head! Literally, I will answer almost anything! You can leave a comment, Private Message me, whatever! Have fun!**

**One more thing before I leave. Thanks to everyone who has left a comment! You guys are so supportive of me! You are a blessing!**


	17. Chapter 17 Home

Chapter 17

Home

Sonic stared wide eyed at the ceiling. He was supposed to be asleep, yet he felt wide awake. It didn't help that his hotel bed was not very comfortable. One thought kept echoing in his head.

"He could have died." Sonic thought to himself. He thought back to what Josh had told him only a few moments ago.

…...

"So, after you got thrown in the box, his attacks got even worse." Josh explained to his attentive "older brother." "I tried to make myself more of a threat to save you. He seemed to focus on the bigger threat, and you were until I managed to land a hit on him. After that, he focused most of his attacks on me." The two slowly walked down the street back to the hotel. Their way was lit by a bunch of street lamps.

"Woah, slow down. Exactly how did that save me?" Sonic looked at Josh with concern.

"The swords he was making appeared at a fast rate, but when I made myself a threat, they slowed down quite a bit as he focused on me." Sonic nodded. "Anyways, when I saw the last sword start to go into your box, I panicked and headed over. I wanted to try to let you out. On my way over, Blitz fired a ton of projectiles, ranging from small hypodermic needles to a large dagger that got in my side."

"Did it hurt?" Sonic asked.

"Well, yeah, of course it did. But, I'm fine now, see?" Josh showed Sonic the healed skin on his arms and on his side. "No harm done."

"Tell me what happened next." Sonic said.

"Well, uh, I managed to get him to hit all of the columns and the building fell. Then I made a wish to be healed. Ta-Da!" Josh said.

"...You're hiding something." Sonic looked at Josh with an eyebrow raised.

"What? No, that's pretty much all that happened." Josh said with a shrug.

"Pretty much? Josh, you need to tell me what happened." Sonic stopped and crossed his arms. "I'm not going to take no for an answer."

"...Well, I, ah..." Josh sighed. He chose his next words carefully. "I did... go unconscious for a few seconds."

"You bled out?!" Sonic almost yelled. "Josh, you need to be more careful!"

"Well I did manage to get the Emerald! You should be lucky I even **made** it to it to the Emerald, otherwise you wouldn't even be out of that box yet!" Josh said defensively. It took a moment before he realized what he just said, and a moment more to realize that Sonic picked it up way before he did.

"You almost didn't get the Emerald?" Sonic stared at Josh wide eyed.

"...I managed to crawl over and touch it." Josh finally admitted. "I didn't even realize I did until I was healed." Sonic was quiet, while Josh stared awkwardly at the ground.

"Josh," Sonic finally spoke up. "You need to be more careful. You won't always get that lucky. Next time that happens, you may end up dying. That means that Jacob will be stuck here, without a brother. And... I'll miss you." Sonic grabbed Josh's shoulder. Josh looked up into the blue hedgehog's eyes. "Will you be more careful?" Sonic asked. "For Jacob, and for me?"

"...Okay. I promise." Josh said. Sonic smiled a bit. Josh smiled back. However, as they continued walking, the hedgehog couldn't get one nagging thought out of the back of his head.

…...

"He could have died." Sonic thought to himself again. He kept tossing and turning, rolling around in his own thoughts. Sonic tried everything to get the thought out of his head, but it kept coming back. Even Josh's promise couldn't calm him. Sonic sat up and rubbed his temple.

"I can't be so attached." Sonic thought. "He's going to have to go home eventually." Yes, Sonic would keep a close watch on Josh, and make sure he wouldn't get hurt. Even if he wasn't his actual older brother, he would sure as heck act like it. But when the time came, Sonic had to make sure that he was prepared to let Josh go. "I can't be a wreck when Josh leaves, that will only make it harder on him."

But...

What will happen when Josh leaves? Sonic's train of thought went in a completely different direction as another thought occurred to him.

"Josh has no one to take care of him back on Earth. It'll just be him and Jacob." Sonic closed his eyes. He knew Josh would be against the idea of adoption. He cared about Jacob way too much to risk losing him, even if he wouldn't. Sonic knew that the brothers wouldn't be separated if they decided to get adopted or fostered, but running that idea past Josh might be tricky.

Sonic shook his head. He was becoming too attached again.

Brother.

Attached.

Adopt.

Dead.

Alive.

Josh.

Too many thoughts kept swirling around Sonic's head. He needed to clear it, otherwise, he would never get any sleep. Sonic stood up and did something he hadn't done for a long time.

He went for a walk.

…...

Josh awoke to hear the door close. A quick check at his bed stand clock revealed it to be 2:30 in the morning. Josh rubbed his eyes a bit, looking over to the two beds. Knuckles was sound asleep, but Sonic's was empty. Josh snuck over to the door and opened it a crack. Sonic was slowly walking down the hall towards the stairs. Josh closed the door, grabbed his shoes, then left again in pursuit of Sonic.

…...

The night air was cool against Sonic's skin. He walked slowly and deliberately through a park, a new thought seeming to form with each step.

Brother.

Josh.

Emeralds.

Dead.

Adopt.

Alive.

Sonic shook his head. He was having an information overload. Wasn't the reason he came out here to clear his head?

Emeralds.

Dead.

Alive.

Adopt.

Brother.

Josh.

Sonic kicked a rock around. He gave up on trying to get rid of these thoughts. Might as well stew in his thoughts if they were going to happen. Maybe try to make some sense of his emotions.

Dead.

Alive.

Emeralds.

Brother.

Adopt.

Josh.

...Adopt...

Josh.

Adopt Josh?

Sonic stopped. Adopting Josh...

…...

Josh looked around for his blue friend, but seemed to have lost track of him.

"Great." Josh grumbled. He continued walking down the street, hoping to at least catch a glimpse of Sonic. Josh kicked a small rock down the sidewalk. It skittered to the front of a small shop. Josh looked up. "Sing-a-little..." Josh read the small sign. He looked in to see a small little music shop. The door was propped open. "Might as well take a look." Josh shrugged and headed in.

"Hello there young man!" A young rabbit sat at the front desk. She smiled at Josh. and walked up to him. "Welcome to Sing-a-little! How can I help you?"

"I'm sorry, I'm just window shopping." Josh smiled.

"Oh, well that's fine, we don't charge to look around." The rabbit smiled again. "Can you play?"

"Uh, yeah, the piano." Josh replied. The rabbit looked around.

"Want to play on a really good one?" She asked, lowering her voice.

"You serious?" Josh asked back.

"Just don't tell my boss." The rabbit winked. "Come on, I'll show you some new sheet music we got!"

…...

Adopting Josh... what would that entail? Josh would be in a lot more danger... It seemed like Eggman made Sonic a target every day. With Josh in the mix... things would get complicated. Based on what Josh said Eggman did to his brother, he had a feeling the rotund villain wouldn't be afraid to kill Josh if he had the chance.

And yet...

Sonic needed to know Josh would be safe, taken care of. What better way to do that than to keep the little guy close. Even if Sonic had to adopt both Josh and Jacob, he would do it. At least then he could be with Josh.

Sonic felt a small burning in his chest. What was it? Sonic put a hand on his heart, closed his eyes, and smiled.

It was love.

Not the kind of love you see in movies, but the kind of love you have for a close friend. It was the kind of love that you hold towards your family.

Your brother for example.

Sonic made up his mind. He was adopting Josh.

And he was doing it tonight.

…...

"Oh, I love this song!" Josh pulled out a small folder, simply titled "arms."

"Nice choice! It's me and my boyfriend's favorite!" The rabbit sighed a bit, as good memories came flooding to her. She looked at Josh. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go play it!" Josh smiled and hurried over to the piano.

He opened the folder and set it on the stand of a beautiful grand piano. He studied the music for a moment before playing the introduction. The soft tune slowly carried him away, as the lyrics came to him. He started to sing...

_I've never thought that you'd_

_Be the one to hold my heart..._

_But you came around and you knocked me_

_Off the ground from the start..._

…...

Sonic walked back to the hotel excitedly. He couldn't wait to get Josh. But something stopped him. A voice coming from a small shop across the street.

_You put your arms arms around me_

_And I believe that it's_

_Easier for you to let me go.._

The voice was amazing. Sonic closed his eyes as he got lost in the melody of the voice and the piano.

_You put your arms around me_

_and I'm home._

Sonic's eyes snapped open. He knew that voice. He looked over to see Josh, playing on a grand piano. He smiled and shook his head. That boy never ceased to amaze him. He quickly made his way over to the store.

…...

Josh's fingers danced across the keys, as he made his way to the second verse. The melody was so beautiful, he didn't notice a second person sit next to him and start to harmonize his playing. The duet made the music sound like something that the angels had written. (Of course, Josh didn't notice this, he was too busy getting lost.) Josh was about to sing again, when another voice cut him off.

**How many times will you let me**

**Change my mind and turn around?**

Josh suddenly turned to see Sonic was playing and singing next to him. Josh was amazed! Not only was Sonic making up a beautiful piano harmony on the spot, and a complicated one at that, his voice was amazing! It was pitch perfect, pleasing to listen to, and it even did that little wavy thing that artists called vibrato! Sonic smiled at Josh before continuing on.

**I can't decide if I'll let you**

**Save my life, or if I'll drown...**

Josh smiled back before harmonizing with Sonic's voice.

_**I hope that you see right**_

_**through my walls...**_

_**I hope that you catch me**_

_'cause I'm already falling!_

Sonic stopped and let Josh sing the last line of that, considering he seemed to always be falling. They both chuckled a bit before continuing on.

_**I'll never let our love get so close**_

**You put your arms around me, **_**and I'm home.**_

Josh and Sonic both started to play louder, as the big finish to the song came.

"When have you started to sing and play like that?" Josh asked between verses.

"I always have... It's just been one of my more guilty pleasures. Not many people know I can!" Sonic replied. "Your verse."

"No, we sing it together!" Josh smiled. "I'll sing the first two lines, you sing the next two, then we'll both sing together."

"Whatever you say." Sonic agreed. Josh cleared his throat before singing.

_The world is coming down on me and_

_I can't find a reason to be loved..._

**I never want to leave you but**

**I can't make you bleed if I'm alone.**

_**You put your arms around me**_

_**And I believe that **__it's_

_easier for you to let me go..._

_**I hope that you see right through my walls!**_

_I hope that you catch me_

**'Cause I'm already falling!**

_**I'll never let our love get so close!**_

_You put your arms around me-_

Sonic stopped playing suddenly and wrapped Josh in a tight hug.

"**And you're home**." He finished.

"...Sonic?"

"Josh, I've been thinking. I don't want you to go home and have to fend for yourself again." Sonic looked at Josh. "I wanted you to consider adoption."

"Sonic, you know why I don't want to get ado-" Josh was interrupted by Sonic, who held up a hand.

"Josh... _I_ want to adopt you." Sonic looked deep into Josh's eyes, who grew to be the size of saucers.

"...Sonic..." Josh gasped. "You'd... you'd do that for me?" Sonic nodded. "B-but what about Jacob?"

"Sure, we'll adopt him too! We can be one big family!" Sonic said. A small sniffle interrupted the conversation. They turned to see the rabbit crying, and dabbing a tissue at her eyes.

"Oh, don't mind me." She sobbed. "Just go on!"

"...What do you say Josh? Do you want to be my actual brothers?" Sonic asked softly. Josh looked astounded, before a huge grin spread across his face.

"...Yes. Yes, Yes, YES!" Josh lept at Sonic and hugged him tightly. Josh thought of all the things Sonic had just done, not only for him, but for his little brother as well. They would never have to be lonely again! Someone would always be watching out for them! Josh wouldn't have to worry as badly if there would be food on the table, or if they would keep their house! It seemed that the weight of the world just melted off of Josh's shoulders. Josh started to softly cry. "You don't know how much you've just done." Josh almost whispered. Sonic smiled and held his soon to be little brother close.

…...

"Mr. Hedgehog?" The receptionist at the adoption center asked. "We're ready for you."

"Who knew Casino Park would have an adoption center?" Josh said excitedly. Sonic chuckled. The two followed the receptionist into an office. A middle-aged fox sat behind a desk.

"Welcome gentlemen." The fox said as he pushed some papers to the side. "Which one of you is Josh?" I raised my hand. The fox smiled. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you." Josh beamed. The fox motioned for the two to take a seat.

"Well, I must say this is rather unique. We don't get any humans in here, so you are a bit of a rare case." The fox said, studying some papers before sliding them up to us.

"Is that going to cause problems?" Sonic asked.

"No, it's just that... well, I've never seen a hedgehog adopt a human." The fox replied. "Sorry, I'm letting my opinion get in the way." The fox waved his hand dismissively. "Okay, so, by signing this, you agree to take not only financial, but moral responsibility for Mr. Corey here." The fox held a pen towards Sonic. "Are you ready for that?" Sonic looked at Josh.

"Of course I am." Sonic looked back at the fox, grabbed the pen, and signed the paper.

…...

"Welcome to the family Josh!" Sonic cheered as they left the building.

"Josh the Hedgehog..." Josh thoughtfully put a finger to his chin. "I like it! Has a nice ring to it." Sonic laughed before putting an arm around his now official little brother. Josh smiled, and hummed the last few notes to his new favorite song.

_You put your arms around me, and I'm_

_Home._

_…..._

_The next day_

_…..._

The sun filtered through the curtains and fell right on Knuckles. He squinted and held a hand up to the bright light.

"Mornings..." Knuckles grumbled. He got up, and saw both Josh and Sonic were still sound asleep. He checked the clock. 10:00 a.m. "Hmph." Knuckles grunted. "Figures." Then Knuckles noticed something... odd. Both Sonic and Josh were smiling... while they were asleep. "What are they dreaming about?" Knuckles wondered as he walked over to their beds. He sat and watched them for a moment. "...Well, let's wake them up. Time to go." Knuckles thought with a smirk. Any chance to cause Sonic grief was welcome, and he couldn't resist messing with Josh a bit too. He went over to Josh to shake him awake, when he noticed Josh clutching something. A piece of paper. Curious, Knuckles carefully slid the paper out from Josh's hands and read it. "...Josh... the Hedgehog." Knuckles finished. He stared at Josh for a moment, then looked at Sonic. Knuckles smiled a bit. "Congrats." He quietly put the paper on Josh's bed stand, then left to go downstairs for breakfast.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

**JJ: Cough, wow, it's dusty in here!**

**Josh: Oh, look who **_**finally**_** decided to show up again!**

**JJ: Hey, I've been busy with school! But I've been trying to write a ton! Don't worry, I haven't forgotten you guys!**

**Josh: So you say.**

**JJ: Hey, you try juggling work, school, homework, and writing this, then come back and complain to me. Not to mention I got writer's block.**

**Josh: Whatever, just start the story. And get this dust off of me.**

**JJ: I'm sorry! '^_^**

Hello again everyone, this is entry number four! Things have gotten pretty... exciting around here since the last entry. Very, very exciting. But, let's start at the beginning, shall we?

The sun filtered down through the curtains in our hotel. It landed directly on my eye. My eyes fluttered open, only to be blinded by a beam of golden light. I quietly grunted as I sat up and rubbed my eye.

"Morning." I heard Sonic mumble from the bed next to me.

"Hey." I replied. "What time is it?" Sonic picked up the small electronic clock on the table.

"Almost 11:00." Sonic said, placing the clock down and getting out of bed.

"Wow, we slept in." I chuckled as I rubbed the sleep and gunk out of my eyes.

"No doubt." Sonic said standing up. "Although, it's understandable, considering the night we just had last night, _Mr. Hedgehog._" We both smiled. Sonic leaned over and grabbed a pair of socks from a drawer.

"...Where'd you get those?" I asked, pointing at the socks.

"The drawer." Sonic said, like it was obvious.

"Well I know that!" I said, rolling my eyes. "I mean, where did you manage to get another pair of socks? You didn't put anything in my backpack did you?"

"No," Sonic replied, "These are my socks from yesterday."

"...Do you ever change them?" I asked, looking slightly disgusted.

"Nope. We don't need to, the clothes never get dirty here!" Sonic said.

"Really? How does that work?" I asked, still a little grossed out.

"I dunno, something to do with the fibers or whatever. It's the reason why everyone around here hasn't changed for over a decade." Sonic explained.

"So, they don't even get stinky?" I asked, curious about these new clothes.

"Never." To prove his point, Sonic lifted a sock to his nose and took a sniff. "Smells like a summer breeze. Want a sniff?" Sonic asked, flinging the sock at me. I tried to dodge, but it landed right on my face.

"..." I took a sniff. It did smell like a summer breeze! "...This is confusing, amazing, disturbing, and disgusting, all rolled up into one." I said, taking the sock off my face and throwing it back. Sonic laughed.

"My advice, don't think too much about everything here. What's normal for me may not be normal for you. I take it your clothes do get dirty?" Sonic asked.

"Yep, I have to wash mine pretty much every week." I said. Sonic went wide eyed for a moment before focusing on getting his gloves on.

"Well, how does breakfast sound?" Sonic asked, going over to his sneakers.

"Fantastic!" I said, as my stomach loudly growled.

"Seriously, when are you going to get that growling checked?" Sonic asked with a combination of concern and amusement on his face.

"Soon. Very, very soon." I said, looking down at my gut.

"...Come on, let's go." Sonic said, heading for the door.

"Wait!" I ran over to the night stand and grabbed the adoption slip. I quickly read my new name once more before folding it and putting it in my back pocket. I walked up to Sonic. "Ready." Sonic smiled and mussed up my hair before we both headed out.

…...

"Took you two long enough." Knuckles was leaning against a wall, near the entrance of what looked to be a small restaurant in the hotel. It was decked out very fancily. "Sonic made the reservation, so we need him to get in."

"Into the hotel buffet?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Zis is no buffet!" A proud looking husky stood at the door, dressed in a suit and bowtie, with black slacks, and a small white towel draped over his arm. "Zis is ze finest eatery in all of Casino Park!" He said in his thick French accent. His steel blue eyes leered at us through his grey fur.

"Sorry, he's new!" Sonic went over to my side. "Um, I believe you have a reservation in my name. It's So-"

"Sonic ze Hedgehog!" The husky finished. "We know who you are. Right zis way monsieur." The husky briskly walked off into the restaurant.

"...So you guys don't have buffets in you hotels?" I asked as we followed.

"Normally yes," Knuckles said, "But this is Casino Park. You either go big or go home here!"

"Which is why you lost all of your money, right?" I asked, using my innocent voice. Knuckles glared at me. I smiled. "Relax. I'm just teasing you, I would be pennyle-...er... ringless by this point too." Knuckles grunted, but seemed to calm down. The husky ushered us to our table, a small three seater, covered with a white linen tablecloth, and a small floral centerpiece in the middle.

"Your waiter will be here shortly. Here iz ze menu." The husky placed a large laminated page in front of each of us, before briskly walking off.

"...Sonic," I said, ducking down a bit. "I hate to complain, but everyone's staring at me again. Can I like go get a hat or something."

"They're not staring at you." Knuckles said from behind his menu.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"Has anyone tried flirting with you since you've arrived here?" Knuckles asked.

"Yeah, one person." I said defensively, thinking he was trying to make fun of me. Knuckles peeked out from over his menu and looked surprised. "What?" I asked.

"Let's just say that the normal Mobian would not be giving you the looks that they're giving now." Knuckles said. I looked around to see girls fanning themselves a bit and talking excitedly to each other, all of them staring at our table. There were murmurs throughout the room, from men and women alike, as they all stole glances at our table.

"Why are they staring at you guys like that?" I asked quietly.

"Not us," Knuckles said, "Just him." He jerked a thumb towards Sonic.

"Come on, that's not true." Sonic said, blushing a tiny bit.

"You're famous?" I asked, not really surprised.

"_We're_ famous." Sonic said, pointing at both himself and Knuckles. "Whenever we tend to beat Eggman, the news crews aren't very far behind."

"He's the most well known." Knuckles said, still looking at his menu.

"Says who?" Sonic shot back.

"Says the cover of every teen girl magazine out there." Knuckles smirked a bit.

"Wait," I said chuckling. "You're a teenage heartthrob?" I looked at Sonic, who just blushed harder.

"Um, hi!" A voice spoke up. A young chipmunk, probably 18 years old, stood at the table. "My names, like Brianna, and I'll be your waiter." She said, with a combination of nerves and excitement. She spoke in the way some teenage girls do, where their voice goes up at the end of a sentence even though their not asking a question. "So, have you, like, decided what you wanted, or do you need more time?" She asked.

"More time please." I said. Sonic just nodded.

"Um, okay, I'll be back in a bit! Oh, by the way, it's, like, super cool to meet you Sonic!" She dashed off on her tip toes, before joining a small group of girl waitresses across the restaurant, who all squealed.

"Glad that's not me." Knuckles said, putting his menu down and smirking. Sonic didn't say a thing.

…...

Sonic dashed out of the hotel, followed by me and Knuckles who braced ourselves against the door.

"Get out of here!" Knuckles yelled. "It's you they want, not us!"

"I can't just leave you guys, you'll be killed!" Sonic said back, as a rumbling sound coming from the hotel started to get louder.

"We'll be fine, just go!" I yelled. "We'll hold them off for as long as we can! Meet back at the warehouse we demolished!" Sonic hesitated, then nodded before speeding off. The rumbling started to get much louder.

"Here we go!" Knuckles said, pushing against the door as hard as he could. I did the same.

It did almost nothing to stop the giant mob of screaming fan girls who came pouring out of the hotel.

"Where'd he go?" One of the girls yelled.

"I don't know!" Another yelled. I quickly got an idea. I snuck my way into the crowd of girls.

"There he is, over by the fountain!" I yelled in my girliest voice. It did the trick, as the mob pushed their way towards a fountain in the opposite direction of where Sonic ran.

"Well, that was easy." Knuckles said, as he watched the crowd.

"I know, right?" I said in my girly voice again. Knuckles looked at me in disbelief.

"That was you?!" He asked, wide eyed.

"Like totally!" I exclaimed. I went back to my normal voice. "Come on, let's go find Sonic."

…...

"Sonic! You here?" Knuckles yelled out into the rubble.

"They're gone! You can come out now!" I called. Slowly and cautiously, Sonic crept out from behind a tree. When he was sure the coast was clear, he walked over towards us.

"Thanks guys." Sonic said.

"You're welcome tween dream!" I said, flashing a cutesy smile. Sonic slightly blushed again.

"So, what's our plan now?" Sonic asked, trying to casually cover his muzzle to hide the blush.

"We get out of here. Now." Knuckles said. "It won't be long before the mob finds us here."

"Well, actually, can we stay here for just a minute?" I asked. "I want to see how Jacob's doing real fast."

"Sure." Sonic said.

"Make it quick." Knuckles said. I nodded, then held my hand above my ring. I conjured up a mental image of the Green Chaos Emerald. After a brief flash, the Emerald appeared in my hand. I closed my eyes.

"I wish I could see what my brother has been doing." I said.

…...

I felt a brief sensation, like I was falling. "What was that?" I asked the Green Spirit.

"We are traveling back in time." She replied. When I opened my eyes, I was standing in the middle of what looked like a steam-punk mixed with junkyard version of a city. Blaze, Silver, and Jacob, who was still a cat, were walking down the street, looking somewhat cautious.

"Are you sure the Emerald's here?" Blaze asked.

"It's what it says on the ring." Jacob held his hand out, as a dark blue glow emanated from his ring.

"How could the Sol Emerald end up here?" Silver asked, looking around. "This place is a dump!"

"Well, you know what they say." Jacob replied. "One man's junk is another man's idea for a city."

"Cute." Blaze said, looking at Jacob, a small grin on her face. "Come on, let's keep looking."

The scene started to move in fast forward, as the group started to search in stores, in dumpsters, and down alleys. Soon things started to move so fast that I could only make out certain events. They found it, some guy transformed into a monster, Jacob was captured, monster was defeated, then-

"Wait, stop here!" I commanded. The scene instantly stopped. Blaze was holding Jacob in a tight hug, as Jacob buried his face in her fur. I couldn't tell if he was crying or just breathing hard, but he was definitely shaken up. Blaze's face was full of relief, as she comforted my little brother. The scene started to go in fast motion again, as it showed the group getting the Emerald, and Jacob making a wish and passing out. It stopped again when Jacob came to. Jacob looked happy.

"What?" Silver asked.

"Sonic just adopted Josh!" Jacob said happily. "Now he won't be so lonely!"

"Big deal!" Blaze said, sitting next to Jacob. "So Sonic adopted Josh. I can do you one better." I froze, not sure I liked where the conversation was going. I mean, I was happy for Jacob, but...

"What do you mean?" Jacob asked, looking somewhat confused. If Blaze said what I thought she was going to say, that would mean that me and Jacob would be separated! But... why am I not feeling sad... or lonely...

"I mean, not only can I adopt you, but you'll be a prince, right along side me!" Blaze said.

Yep, he's getting adopted too.

"What do you think?" Blaze asked. She was answered by a happy squeal and Jacob leaping at her.

"ThankyouthankyouTHANKyou!" Jacob yelled. Blaze just laughed and sat herself, and Jacob up.

"Now, we can't do it yet, but when we find the Emeralds, we're going right over to see my parents!" Blaze said, sounding excited, which was weird for her, because I've never heard her excited. The scene slowly fizzled out, and a blinding green flash engulfed the place.

…...

I came to, feeling not exactly how I thought I would feel. I squinted trying to make sense of the emotion I was feeling.

"What's wrong?" Sonic asked. He walked over to the tree I was sitting against.

"Blaze is going to adopt Jacob. This is exactly what I didn't want to happen, me and him getting separated." I said, frowning in thought.

"...Josh...I'm so sorry." Sonic sat next to me. "What do you want to do?" He asked.

"Nothing." I replied. Sonic looked at me.

"Nothing?" He repeated.

"Nothing." I said again. "For some reason, it's not bothering me..." I furrowed my brow. "I'm feeling something, but I'm not sure what."

"How can you not know what you're feeling?" Knuckles asked me. I shrugged.

"Maybe you just don't want to admit it." Sonic said. I turned to look at him, and he gave me a knowing look. "Just say it."

"...I feel... relieved." I said, placing a name, somewhat unwillingly, to my emotion. "Someone else is going to be taking care of Jacob. Someone I can trust."

"See, is being separated really that bad?" Sonic said, nudging me a bit.

"Well, yeah." I said. "I miss him like heck!"

"I meant him being adopted by Blaze." Sonic said, giving me a 'really?' look.

"...No... it's not." I said, allowing a smile to come onto my face. I sat in thought for a while longer before standing up. "Okay boys, let's get moving. Jacob already has two Emeralds, and I am **not** going to be beaten by my little brother!" I said in a commanding tone.

"Aye aye!" Sonic yelled. "Where to cap'n?" I held my ring out. The Purple Emerald was still a ways away, but it seemed that the Red Emerald decided to move much closer than it had before.

"East!" I said, pointing in the Red Emerald's direction. "Or whichever way that is!" Knuckles rolled his eyes before speeding off. Sonic started to grab my wrist, then stopped.

"Would your hand be more comfortable?" Sonic asked me.

"My hand?" I asked.

"When I run. Would it hurt less if I grabbed your hand instead of your wrist?" Sonic said.

"Um... I guess. Are you okay with it?" I asked him.

"You're my little brother, why wouldn't I be?" Sonic asked. "Are _you_ okay with it?" I shrugged, then held my hand out. He grabbed it tightly enough so that he wouldn't let go, but soft enough that it wouldn't hurt, then sped off. "Ready?" I nodded. With that, he sped off after Knuckles.

…...

Believe it or not, the ride was much more comfortable. We stopped to take a break, and I only felt a slight ache in my hand. Beyond that, I was fine. The ache went away within seconds. We were once again running through a forest, but this forest had much fewer trees then the last one we ran through. I went over and leaned against a tree. I felt exhausted. Even though I wasn't running, trying to stay standing while moving at high speed was physically draining.

"How you feelin'?" Sonic asked, stretching out his legs.

"Pretty good actually. Just tired." I said, closing my eyes and feeling the warmth of the sun. I opened my eyes and took a look at my ring. The red glow was glowing about 30% brighter than the last time we saw it. Maybe enough to dimly light a dark room.

"Hey, you never made a second wish." Sonic said, walking over to me.

"Yeah, I guess I didn't." I said, staring at the small yellow jewel that sat next to the green jewel. "I figured I would use it in case of emergency. You know, in case one of us is badly injured and we need to get somewhere fast."

"Good idea." Sonic said. He studied the ring for a bit more. "What would you wish for though?"

"If I didn't want to keep an emergency wish?" I asked. Sonic nodded. "Hmm... I really don't know. Maybe I could just wish the other Emeralds to our location."

"You need to know where they are." Knuckles reminded me. "You can't just make something appear if you don't know where it is in the first place. Otherwise, we'd never worry about finding the Emeralds."

"Well, I could just wish that me and my brother were together." I said, thinking out loud. "That would make things a lot easier."

"Actually, you can't." The Yellow Spirit said.

"Your brother is in a different dimension." The Green Spirit said. "We cannot simply grab him, that would require bending time and space, which would require much more power. You need all seven of us."

"What'd they say?" Sonic asked.

"They need more power. Here, grab on." I said, holding out the hand with the ring. Sonic walked over and took it. "Wait... I don't need to find my brother anymore." I said, as a I slowly realized the situation we were in. "He's staying with Blaze. We don't need to go chasing after the Emeralds."

"Actually, we still do." Sonic said. "Remember, Eggman's still after them."

"Right." I said. "So, I kinda sorta understand why we have to collect all seven of our emeralds, but why do Jacob, Blaze, and Silver need to collect all seven of theirs?"

"We cannot simply release the energy we have contained in us. We were originally going to expel it by having you use Chaos Control to get back home." The Yellow Spirit explained. "But now that you are staying, we need some place to put our energy, someone to share our energy with."

"The Sol Emeralds." Sonic stated.

"Precisely." Yellow continued. "Instead of having you both use Chaos Control, we will simply transfer some of our energy to the Sol Emeralds."

"Is something bothering you Josh?" The Green Spirit asked. I was holding my head.

"I'm lost." I said.

"Allow me." Sonic said to the spirits. "We were originally going to have you and Jacob use Chaos Control to get home, but that would require the energy of all seven Chaos Emeralds for you, and all seven Sol Emeralds for Jacob."

"Okay, but, now that we're staying we just need to find all the emeralds so the Chaos Emeralds can transfer some of their energy to the Sol Emeralds?" I asked, starting to make some sense out of things. Sonic nodded. "Great!"

"Almost." Sonic said thoughtfully. "We still don't know why Eggman wants the Emeralds, or how many he has right now."

"...Well, let's think here for a bit." I said. "Eggman had the Emeralds so he could charge them up, make them stronger. Why?" Everyone went silent. "Come on guys, no idea's a bad idea, let's brainstorm."

"He could just be using them to make a machine stronger." Sonic said.

"But what machine...?" I pondered.

"Let's hope we don't have to find out." Sonic said. I nodded, but I was lost in thought. Throughout this whole conversation, one thing stuck with me, one thing that I hadn't really thought about before.

Jacob is staying with Blaze.

Yes, I felt happy for him. The two clicked. They were inseparable, like me and Sonic. But...

I would miss him.

Horribly.

If he really is in another dimension, I may never be able to talk to him again. My face clouded over, as the full realization of what Blaze had done hit me.

I was so grateful to her.

I hated her.

I was conflicted.

Sonic looked at me, confusedly, and was about to say something before-

"Hey, are you guys just going to talk to yourselves or are we going?" Knuckles asked, sounding impatient. I scoffed.

"Coming mother!" I yelled back. Knuckles glared at me a bit. Why was teasing him so fun?

Oh yeah, 'cause he can be a jerk at times. I nodded at Sonic, he grabbed my hand again, and we were off.

…...

It was just our luck. The weather decided to take a turn for the worse, and we were running in the pouring rain.

"We need to find shelter!" Sonic yelled over to Knuckles.

"Where? We're in the middle of nowhere Sonic!" He yelled back. We had made it out of the forest, and were now running through what used to be a sunny, grassy field. Now, the grass was sopping wet, and very slippery, making it very hard, and extremely dangerous to run.

"Guys, look!" I said, pointing my hand towards a distant building. My ring immediately reacted, flashing a bright red. "I think the Emerald's in there!"

"Emerald or not, we're going in!" Sonic yelled. He corrected his course slightly and sped off towards the building. As we approached, the building grew bigger and bigger. We quickly realized this wasn't just any old building.

This was a mansion!

We stopped in front of a large iron gate, cutting us off from the large white mansion. The front yard was filled with hedges, fountains, ponds, and gardens. A small walkway cut right through to the front door.

"Who's that?" Knuckles asked, looking up towards the sky. Me and Sonic looked up, squinting as the rain hit our face, to see a blurry figure flying up in the sky. The figure landed in the front yard.

"Is that Rouge?" Sonic asked.

"Great." Knuckles grumbled. Indeed it was. The white bat looked around, before running over to the side of the large building.

"Is she the one who's the treasure hunter?" I asked.

"Yep." Sonic said.

"She's after the Emerald. We gotta get in there!" Knuckles went up to the gate, and started to climb.

"...Wait, Knuckles!" I called out, but my call was too late. He touched a small wire near the top of the gate. We heard a quick yelp, then Knuckles fell to the ground with a thud.

"...Y'know, if you look close you can see little spirals in his eyes." Sonic said, putting a hand on his hip and tilting his head.

"The fence is electrocuted." I said quietly. Knuckles sat up and shook his head.

"Then how do you propose we get in?" He asked as he tried to get rid of some of the mud.

"We ring." I replied, walking over to an electronic doorbell on the gate. I pressed the small button.

"May I help you?" A male voice asked through a speaker.

"Yes, me and my friends just need shelter from the rain." I said.

"Come right in." A loud click sounded somewhere inside one of the columns holding the gate up, before it quietly opened.

"Thank you!" I quickly said, as our little group hurried towards the house. The front lawn was starting to flood, as water slowly ebbed onto the walkway, making it slick. I slipped and fell on my back in my hurry to get out of the rain. Sonic helped me up, and we continued to the mansion.

We stepped onto the porch, which was covered by a small outcropping extending from the wall. We gratefully received the shelter from the rain. We were literally dripping from all of the water. I turned to see a wall of rain coming down around us. I shivered a bit, as the coldness of the rain sank in. Sonic rapped on the door. A teenaged husky answered it, wearing a pair of Levi's and a black t-shirt.

"Please, hurry inside." He said in a kind voice. "Let's get you guys dry." I studied him for a moment.

"You don't happen to have a French brother in Casino Park do you?" I asked.

"He's not French." He said before ushering us in. I laughed a bit.

"I like you. What's your name?" I asked.

"Arthur, sir." The husky said. "May I ask yours?"

"It's Josh. Joshua Co-...I mean, Josh the Hedgehog." Arthur squinted a bit in confusion, but I didn't notice. I felt a small tickle inside of me. I just used my new name for the first time!

And it was _awesome_.

"I'm his older brother, Sonic the Hedgehog." Sonic gave a thumbs up.

"Knuckles." Was all the red bore said.

"A pleasure to meet you." He took us down a long hallway, stopping about midway and turning into a room with a huge fireplace. "Feel free to warm yourselves up here. You seem to be about my size Josh, would you like a change of clothes?"

"If it's not too much trouble." I said, shivering even more now. My clothes were drenched, especially the back from when I fell.

"No trouble at all." He said, smiling. "I'll be right back." He quickly turned and left the room. I walked around, examining the place. The fireplace was large enough to light the room, casting a warm glow about the place. The walls were a scarlet color, with assorted nick-knacks from around the world. A postcard from a desert, a small windup monkey, a snowglobe with an ancient cathedral inside. The master of the house certainly got around.

"Josh?" Arthur called from the door, with a folded pair of jeans and a blue shirt. "Follow me, I'll show you to a changing room."

"Thank you." I said, following him out. We continued down the hallway. "So, who's the owner of the place?"

"My father." The husky said, leading me down. "He won it playing a game chess against a foreign king who came to visit."

"Wow. Lucky guy." I said, taking in the decor. The hallway was a forest green, with wood flooring. The ceiling was white, and strewn with lightbulbs. Looking down, I could see that this hall branched off into other halls, with those halls leading to different rooms. "Do you ever get lost in here?" I asked. Arthur laughed.

"I've been living here long enough to get used to it." He asnwered. A small ring from his pocket distracted him. He pulled out a small pager. "Sorry, my father needs me for a moment. Just continue down this hall, take the first set of stairs on the left, turn right, then go into the fourth door on your left." He smiled before turning and jogging off to who knows where. I continued down the hall looking for a set of stairs.

…...

"Did he say go left at the stairs, or go right?" I pondered. It took awhile, but I found the stairs. "I think he said, go left, then eighth door on right..." I did my best thinking out loud. I nodded, then headed left. Yeah, I'm not always the best when it comes to memory. I started counting out doors. "One, two, th-" My ring started to glow a bright red. I moved it around. I pointed it at the door right in front of me.

In there! I quietly grabbed the doorknob and swung open the door.

I looked in to see what looked like a game room. A pool table was lit by a large, hanging lamp, while the rest of the room was relatively dim. Many paintings depicting smokers playing various games hung around the room. But there was no sign of a Chaos Emerald. I held up my ring and started to probe the room, but to no avail. The ring was too bright for me to notice any changes. I grunted and dropped my hand down to my side, the glow immediately dimming. I looked around the room for a safe or a vault. The only thing I could find was a bar with a mini fridge full of beer. I turned around and surveyed the room once more. Something didn't feel right. I looked at each painting on the wall.

Two dogs playing billiards.

A small group playing poker.

Some cats watching a golf ball go into the distance. I tried to remove one of the paintings to see if it would come off, but it was bolted to the wall. They all were. Frustrated, I took a step back. I looked at each painting. There had to be something here!

Then I heard footsteps.

Coming from the hall.

I don't know why I hid, but I quickly dived under the billiards table.

Call it a lucky guess. 'Cause guess who stepped in?

Rouge.

She quietly entered the room before closing the door. She scanned the room, before heading towards the bar. After a quick look, she tried to remove the paintings, producing the same results I did. She seemed pretty irritated. She took a quick look at a small watch on her arm, and shook her head.

"'Course it doesn't work." She grumbled. She looked around the room once more before heading back to the bar. I heard clinking from behind the counter, as she moved bottles, glasses, and whatever else, in search of what I assumed to be the Emerald. I quietly stood up.

"You know, it's not nice to look through other people's stuff." I said. She jumped and turned to look at me. "Hiya." I said, smiling and waving. Rouge quickly bolted for the door, but I jumped in front of it. "Oh, leaving so soon?"

"Really? That's the best you can come up with?" She said, giving me an annoyed look and putting her hands on her hips. I blushed a bit, feeling embarrassed.

"W-whether you found the Emerald or not, I can't let you leave without at least showing you to Sonic. Breaking and entering is illegal." I said, crossing my arms. She sighed.

"Fine. Haven't seen Big Blue in a while anyway. Might as well say hi." She dropped her hands to her sides. "So, are you gonna let me out, or am I gonna have to kick you out of the way?" I stared blankly.

"Um... no resistance, no... you're just gonna go with me? ...Uh...o-okay." I slowly went away from the door, keeping a close eye on Rouge. She walked towards the door, opened it, then looked at me.

"Well?" She said.

"Uh, yes?" I asked, still very confused.

"You comin'?"

"...Yeah?" I said, coming to the door. Rouge smirked a bit.

"Close your mouth, you'll catch flies." She said as she left through the door.

…...

"Hiya boys." Rouge said, walking into the room Sonic and Knuckles were in. She made her way over to a red velvet sofa and sat down.

"Rouge?!" Knuckles yelled. "What are you doing here?!"

"She came in through the window, remember?" Sonic replied, sounding a bit tired.

"Aw, it sounds like you missed me Knucks!" Rouge turned herself to lay down on the couch and winked.

"Y-you wish!" Knuckles sounded a bit flustered. Rouge just chuckled. "So, who's your friend?" She asked, motioning to me.

"My little bro, Josh." Sonic said, turning to look at me. "...Who's still soaking wet." Rouge looked a bit confused.

"I'm adopted." I explained. She nodded. "Sorry, I'm going to go change right now, I just wanted to make sure you two kept an eye on her. The Emerald's here, she was trying to find it."

"Typical." Knuckles scoffed. I shook my head and walked off. This was going to be a long night.

"Uh, Josh, mind if I tag along?" Sonic said, looking at me. His eyes quickly darted towards Knuckles and Rouge, giving me the feeling he didn't want to be in the room any longer than needed.

"Of course not!" I said. "I might need some help finding the room anyways. I always seem to get lost when people give me instructions." Sonic quickly stood up and walked out of the room.

"Back soon!" Sonic waved before shutting the door behind him. He then pressed his ear to the door. I did the same. Sonic quietly held up three fingers, then two fingers, then one, the pointed to the door. At that exact moment, Knuckles started to yell, and Rouge started to laugh and talk back. Sonic rolled his eyes before smiling. "He's so predictable."

…...

It took a bit, but we finally found the changing room. ("How did you miss the sign?" Sonic asked, pointing to a sign on the wall that showed where everything was. I shrugged and chuckled.) I quickly stepped in and changed. It felt nice to be in nice, dry clothes, even if they did smell a bit like dog. I stepped out and looked at the sign.

"You know, we could just take a look around this place, if you wanted to." I said.

"If by that you mean 'Let's stay away from Knuckles for as long as possible,' then sure, I'm all for it." Sonic said smirking and looking up at the sign with me.

Kitchen →

Bathroom #06 ←

Bedroom #205-232 ←

Main Office ↓→

"Do you think Arthur's Dad will be in there?" I asked.

"Who?" Sonic looked at me.

"Arthur's dad, he's the master of the house. He won it in a chess game or something." I replied.

"A chess game? What would happen if he lost?" Sonic asked.

"I don't know, I want to find out!" I said, before hopping down the stairs. "Come on Sonic!"

…...

We came to a large oak door, with a golden name plate on the front of it, saying 'Paul Boddy.'

"So, it's the 'Boddy' family?" I asked, squinting. Something about that name seemed familiar...

"Strange name." Sonic said, before knocking.

"Come in!" A deep voice said. Sonic slowly entered the door, and I peeked through behind him. Sitting behind the desk was a husky in a suit and tie, wearing a pair of glasses. He looked a bit like Arthur.

Except he was tall. We knew that for a fact when he came over to greet us. He was a good foot higher than us, maybe even more! Not to mention that he was extremely muscular. Like, he could knock both of us out by just flicking his finger.

But he wasn't intimidating either. His eyes shone through his glasses in a friendly sort of way, and his smile was warm and inviting. He extended his hand out to us.

"Hello, and welcome to Boddy manor!" He said cheerfully. "Arthur told me all about your situation. You are welcome to stay here as long as you'd like." Sonic gratefully shook his hand.

"We appreciate your hospitality Mr. Boddy." Sonic said. "I'm Sonic the He-"

"Yes, I know who you are." Mr. Boddy chuckled. "You've been in the paper countless times, not to mention my daughter is completely head-over-heels for you." He lowered his voice a bit. "Might be best to keep your presence hidden for the time being." Sonic nervously chuckled. "Now, the real question is, who are you?" Mr. Boddy turned his attention to me.

"My name's Josh. Josh the Hedgehog if you feel formal." I said, shaking Mr. Boddy's hand. I just said my name for the second time today, and it still sounds _awesome!_

"A pleasure to meet you Josh." Mr. Boddy walked over to his desk. "Now tell, me, is this statement true?" He held up a bright neon magazine, titled 'Girlz Life.' On the front was a picture of Sonic and me, walking down the street in casino park. Under the picture was this caption:

"Sonic working with endangered animals?" I slumped a bit at that. I mean, yes, I stuck out like a sore thumb, but did people think I was some sort of creature?

"He's not an animal!" Sonic said, grabbing the magazine. "He's my little brother!" If Mr. Boddy had any question about that, he didn't show it.

"Well, the rest of the 'girl world' certainly wants to think he is. Either that or they just can't come up with anything more degrading to say about your brother." Mr. Boddy sat back in his desk. "The teenage girl can be quite vicious sometimes, even if it wasn't intentional." Sonic flipped through the magazine and started to read.

"Um, Mr. Boddy..." I asked. "You wouldn't have to have a red jewel in this house, would you? It's about as big as your fist, and looks like a really big cut diamond."

"Actually, now that you mention it, I do. I locked it up in my billiards room." Mr. Boddy replied. "Why?"

"I need it. It has powers, and we're trying to keep them from falling into the wrong hands." I explained. Mr. Boddy nodded, then stared at me dead in the eye. After a moment, he spoke again.

"Alright. I trust you. I had a feeling I needed to keep that jewel safe." Mr. Boddy smiled. "But we'll need to do it after dinner, the safe I put it in is on a time lock."

"A time lock?" I asked.

"It only opens at a time appointed by the user, in this case midnight." Mr. Boddy explained.

"Kinda inconvenient, don't you think?" Sonic said, giving Mr. Boddy a funny look.

"Somewhat. However, what it lacks in ease, it makes up for in security. All I have to do is stay near the safe until it's a minute past midnight, and I can sleep happy, knowing that whatever I put in the safe is, well, safe!" Mr. Boddy chuckled at his small joke before straightening some papers on his desk.

"...So we have to stay until midnight?" I asked.

"Yes. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but that's unfortunately how it must be." Mr. Boddy said. "I'll have my butler prepare rooms for you. In the meantime, feel free to enjoy yourselves. Arthur can show you around." Mr. Boddy turned back to his desk. "Oh, and tell your bat friend that we do have a door." He added with a chuckle.

"How'd you-" I started to say, before Mr. Boddy interrupted.

"I installed sensors on all of the windows and doors. No one enters or leaves this house without me knowing." A little chime rang from the computer on his desk. He turned to look at it. "Speak of the devil. Someone just came in." He squinted at the screen. "Sonic... do you have another brother?"

"What?" Sonic walked over to the screen, and stopped cold. "...Trust me, he is _not_ my brother." I slowly walked over to the screen. On it, was a video of a soaking wet figure standing at the front door. A green one.

Scourge

**JJ: Now folks if you look right above me, you'll see a cliff hanger!**

**Josh: Why did you do that?**

**JJ: Because I thought it would be good place to stop, and it'll give me motivation to write another chapter quickly! Plus, it's a little fun to torture your readers.**

**Josh: You're so mean.  
JJ: I know, aren't I? XD Tune in next time, where we see what happens when Josh and Sonic collide with Scourge, and we meet some of the other... interesting house guests of the Boddy Mansion.**

**Josh: That name still sounds familiar.**

**JJ: It should be, I'm drawing some inspiration from something.**

**Josh: What?  
JJ: If I told you, it would spoil this section's plot twist! Trust me though, the further along we go, the more obvious it will get as to what I'm getting inspired by.**

**Josh: ...okay. Just write the next chapter faster, okay?**

**JJ: I'm writing as fast as I can. I promise, I'll do my best to make another chapter quickly but no guarantees.**

**Josh: If you say so.**

**JJ: ...Aaaaanywho, bye y'all, see you next time!**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Sonic barged into the living room and grabbed Scourge by his jacket.

"What are you doing here?!" Sonic yelled.

"Same thing as you, idiot!" Scourge pushed Sonic off and smoothed out his jacket. "Trying to stay dry." Scourge saw me cautiously stride into the room. "Oh, look who's back! Ready for Round Two?" Scourge smirked and punched a fist into his hand. I paled a bit.

"Don't you dare touch him!" Sonic lunged at Scourge, who attempted to fight back, but both were held back by Knuckles and Rouge.

"Hey, no fighting!" Knuckles yelled at a struggling Sonic.

"We're all gonna be stuck in here for a while, and we don't want to have to deal with you two the whole time." Rouge said. "So kiss and make up until the rain stops."

"...Fine." Sonic and Scourge said simultaneously. Knuckles nodded at Rouge, and the two let go of the hedgehogs. Sonic glared at Scourge.

"If you so much as lay a finger on him," Sonic said through gritted teeth, "It will be the last thing you do." Scourge simply grunted in response before walking over to the fire place.

…...

After a long, uncomfortable time, the door opened.

"Here's dinner." Arthur announced as he stepped into the room. A few members of a wait staff came behind him, carrying silver trays. "Sorry, we would have you in the dining room, but we actually have guests."

"There's more people here?" I asked.

"My father's hosting a dinner for six of his clients or something." Arthur said, motioning us to sit down around a coffee table in front of the couch. "He manages several businesses, so I think he has the CEO's over for a company meeting of sorts." The wait staff set the trays on the table. On top of them was a plethora of food. Freshly cooked veggies, assorted fruits and cheeses, and a plump turkey to top everything off. A pile of plates, napkins, forks, knives, and spoons were set off to the side. My mouth started to water. "Help yourselves. If you need anything, just pull the cord on the wall over there." Arthur pointed to a small rope the fed into a hole in the wall. "One of the butlers will join you shortly." Arthur waved before walking out of the room, followed by the staff.

Our group just stared hungrily at the food, not wanting to ruin the beautiful layout.

All except Scourge that is. He walked right over and ripped a leg off the turkey. He took a large, and rather rude bite out of it. He turned to look at us. We all stared back in shock.

"What?" He said between bites. "He said help ourselves." He took another bite before walking off. Our group turned back to the, now slightly less filled, but non-the-less beautiful platter.

"I almost feel bad, ruining something like this." I said, finally grabbing a plate and loading it up. Everyone else did the same, serving up a bit of everything. I sat down and looked at my plate. Where to start? I decided to dig into the main course first, the turkey. I cut a piece and popped it into my mouth. My eyes rolled into the back of my head as a cascade of succulent flavors washed over my tongue. I opened my eyes again and hungrily popped another bite into my mouth.

…...

By the time we were finished, it looked like we had licked the tray clean. I sat back on the couch.

"Someday, I'm going to eat like this all the time." Rouge said, as she yawned.

"Fat chance." Knuckles yawned as well. I rubbed my eyes.

"...I feel so... tired." Sonic said, sitting down next to me.

"Turkey has a chemical in it that makes you sleepy." I explained, barely able to keep my eyes open. "And we kinda had a lot of it." A soft snoring turned our attention to the side of the room. Scourge had somehow fallen asleep, leaning up against the wall.

"That's the first good idea he's had all day." Rouge said, as she laid down on the couch and shut her eyes. "Don't mind if I do."

"I just need a good nap..." Knuckles spoke with a slur, as his eyes struggled to remain open. He rested his head back and let sleep wash over him. I looked at Sonic, who looked at me with half-lidded eyes. He smiled at me, and I smiled back. I put my head on his shoulder, as he put his arm around me, and we both fell asleep.

…...

**11:00 p.m.**

My eyes snapped open. Something felt... wrong. I turned to shake Sonic awake, but he was up as well. He looked at me.

"You feel that too?" Sonic asked as he looked around the room. I nodded, feeling uneasy. I felt my hands trembling, though I wasn't sure why. I felt as though something... was watching me. The feeling passed as quickly as it came on. I saw Sonic visibly relax, his quills lowering.

"What was that?" I asked, scanning the room for the cause of our unease.

"I'm... I'm not sure." Sonic replied. I stood up and started to pace the room, trying to make sense of what had just happened.

"...Could you keep it down?" Rouge asked, her eyes squinting. "You walk really loud."

"S-sorry." I said, turning to look at her. She sat up and blinked a few times.

"What time is it?" She asked.

"About 11:00." Scourge said from across the room, making us all jump.

"How long have you been up?" Sonic asked.

"A while. Enough to see your _pet_ have a panic attack." Scourge said, looking back at the fire in the fire place. Sonic glared, but tried to keep his temper.

A loud bang from outside the room startled everyone. Knuckles jolted up.

It sounded like a gunshot.

The room went deathly quiet as we all stared at the door, paralyzed. It wasn't until someone screamed that we dashed into action. We hurried and made our way to the door, and followed the sign.

Dining Room →

…...

"Is everyone okay?" Sonic asked, rushing into the Dining Room.

"Yeah, we're fine, Mrs. White just passed out." A weasel in a green suit was fanning an elderly looking owl wearing a white dress. "...Who are you?"

"They're some of my other guests Reverend." Mr. Boddy spoke up. He was sitting in a chair, looking a little shaken himself.

"We heard a gun! What happened?" Knuckles asked.

"Someone just tried to shoot Mr. Boddy!" The weasel said, pointing to a bullet in the wall, not too far off from where Mr. Boddy was sitting. I stared at the hole for a while, before four other people burst into the room. "The other guests went off to do something, leaving just me and Mrs. White. That's when someone fired the gun!"

"Is that true?" I asked Mr. Boddy. He nodded.

"Was that a gun?" A tough looking crocodile in a yellow army uniform demanded. A slightly elderly peacock shuffled her way into the room, looking a bit timid, followed by a bespectacled fox in a purple suit, and a black cat in a red dress. She looked... familiar. She looked into the room, and stopped when she saw me. She gave me a sexy smile.

"Oh, fancy meeting you here." She said, leaning against the wall. The cat from Station Central! I immediately blushed. "Where's your 'girlfriend?'" She asked, walking over to me and placing a hand on my chest. I stammered, but couldn't get any words out.

"Focus Scarlet! We're here to investigate a gun shot, not flirt with the... whatever-it-is." The fox said, eying me up and down. The cat rolled her eyes and walked away, giving me a wink as she left.

"Seriously? He's not even your age!" Sonic said, looking wide-eyed at the cat.

"Okay, are we going to talk about this, or the attempted murder of Mr. Boddy?!" I blurted out. The room went silent.

"...What?" The peacock asked. Her face grew pale, and her large tail feathers stiffened.

"Someone just tried to shoot John!" The weasel said, helping the owl up to her feet.

The room erupted into questions.

"When?"

"Is he okay?"

"Who shot him?"

"Someone in this house." Scourge said, looking out the window. The room went dead once again. "The road's flooded." Scourge turned around. "There's no way anyone could have gotten in or out when the shooting happened."

The six guests started to look at each other.

"...Who did it? By the show of hands?" The black cat, who I assumed was named Ms. Scarlet, said jokingly.

"Now Scarlet?" The crocodile said, sounding annoyed.

"Oh calm down James!" The cat said huffily. "And quit calling me by my last name!" The crocodile crossed his arms.

"...Well," I said, cutting in. "It looks like we have a murderer among us."

"And he or she will strike again." Scourge said. I turned to look at him.

"He's right." I continued. "The criminal didn't kill Mr. Boddy, so I can assume they will want to try again."

"We'll need to interrogate all of you," Scourge said.

"Sweep the house for any clues," I continued.

"And keep an eye on each of you." We both finished. I nodded, before we both stared at each other in somewhat shock.

"Were we just... working together?" I said, rather confused.

"...No, you were just copying me." Scourge said flatly.

My group stared at me and Scourge for a while before breaking the silence.

"...So, where do we start from here?" Sonic asked.

"One or two people need to stay and interrogate, and the rest of the group needs to look around the area for any evidence." I said.

"Why don't you interrogate." Knuckles said. "You can work with Sonic. He'll keep you safe.

"Fine by me." I said. Sonic nodded. I turned towards the weasel. "Excuse me, mister Reverend..."

"Reverend Green." The weasel said.

"Reverend Green," I repeated, "Did anyone move anything after the shot?"

"No, not to my recollection." The Reverend replied.

"Okay, could I have you and the rest of the guests go away for a while?" I said, shepherding the guests out of the room. Everyone but our group of new detectives left, leaving us in silence.

"...Okay, so, first things first, you guys search this room." I said. "Sonic, you come with me. I think I have some extra tapes we can record with."

…...

Okay, so, I'm going to break off for a bit. What you need to do at this point, whoever is listening, is look for the tape marked "Interrogation 001." That has all of the information on it to continue my story. Once you're done, play this tape again.

…...

_Interrogation 001_

…...

**11:10 p.m.**

"Hello Ma'am." Josh said pleasantly. "Your name?"

"Mrs. Peacock." The peacock said, rather shyly.

"...That's your last name?" Josh asked.

"I know, the irony of it all, you don't need to tell me." The peacock had a slight Indian accent, but only enough of one to know that it was there. She spoke perfect English otherwise.

"Sorry, didn't mean to pry." Josh said softly.

"Anyways, how do you know Mr. Boddy?" Sonic asked.

"He owns the company I work for." Mrs. Peacock simply stated.

"And what is that company?" Josh asked.

"Syntekron Corporation." She again said simply.

"Which deals in?" Josh pressed on.

"Advanced computer and mechanical sciences." She said.

"Thank you. In the future, please explain this all at first." Josh instructed. "It'll make the process go a lot faster."

"I didn't try to shoot him!" The peacock suddenly pleaded.

"We aren't saying you did!" Sonic said reassuringly. "We're just gathering evidence. You aren't in any trouble."

"Now, Mrs. Peacock, I'm going to ask you a very personal question." Josh said. He started out slowly. "I'm not saying you did, but if you were to shoot Mr. Boddy, why would you?"

"But I didn't!" The Peacock replied in a scared tone.

"We know, you didn't." Sonic said. "Just answer the question."

"I had no reason to! He was a kind man, I loved him!" Mrs. Peacock sounded like she was about to cry.

"Alright, that's all we needed to hear." Josh said.

"So I can go home?" She asked hopefully.

"I'm sorry, but we can't let you go just yet. The roads are flooded first off, and second off, we just need you here so we know you're safe." Sonic said soothingly. The peacock nodded, stood up, and walked out of the room, her blue dress trailing ever so slightly behind her.

"A little up front, don't you think?" Sonic asked.

"It might have been, but it was mainly to see her reaction." Josh said. "I wanted to see how she would respond."

"And how did she respond?" Sonic asked.

"I don't know... she's hard to read." Josh said.

"She's what?" Sonic looked at Josh, confused.

"Remember back at the carnival, how I kinda analyzed Blitz's actions and assumed he was hiding Emerald on him?"

"Yeah."

"I picked it up from my brother. Raising him on my own, I had to figure out when he was lying and when he wasn't. People have certain little quirks, but that lady..." Josh hesitated, trying to find the right word.

"She's all quirks." Sonic finished. Josh gave a shrug.

"We'll just have to see." Josh said.

"See what?" Sonic asked. "That interview accomplished almost nothing."

"No, there was something, her work. Let's have Scourge delve into that if he can, see if Syntekron has some connection to the case. If it does, and it is enough to give her reason to kill, then she'll at least have a motive." Josh concluded.

"I just can't believe she works at Syntekron..." Sonic said, shaking his head.

"Why?" Josh asked.

"They're this huge company. They have the biggest search engine in the world, and are always coming up with these strange products. They even have a social site, Syntek+. It's really hard to get a job there, but the pay benefits I've heard are awesome." Sonic explained.

"Hey, we have something like that back on Earth, but we call it Google." Josh exclaimed.

"No kidding!" Sonic replied.

"Nope, and they're even coming up with a- whup!" Josh picked up the tape recorder. "Looks I left this on by mistake. We need to save tape for the rest of the intervie-"

…...

_End of Interrogation 001_

…...

Knuckles, Rouge, and Scourge carefully examined the dining room. They had long since sent the guests out to do interviews.

"I just can't believe someone would be so stupid!" Rouge commented as she checked the bullet hole in the wall.

"What do you mean?" Knuckles asked tiredly, carefully feeling the walls for any other signs of violence.

"Well, it's pouring rain outside! Still!" Rouge gestured towards the window. "There was no way the killer would be able to escape, the roads are all flooded!" Knuckles took his attention away from his job and looked out the window. What looked like a mini flood was raging outside. Anyone trying to leave would be swept away by the current, never to be seen again.

"Maybe they just weren't thinking straight." Knuckles said, continuing down the wall. "They were probably so filled with hate and anger that they didn't really notice anything outside."

"That's the other thing." Rouge said. "Mr. Boddy seems like a really nice guy. I broke into his house and tried to steal his Chaos Emerald, and he just shrugged it off... according to that kid Sonic's with."

"Josh." Knuckles corrected.

"Right, Josh. It just doesn't make any sense to me. What could this guy have done to drive someone to kill?" Knuckles shrugged. Rouge turned to look at Scourge, who was leaning back in a chair, eyes closed, hands behind his head. "And what do you think your doing?" Rouge asked. The hedgehog smirked.

"Pissing you off." He replied, without opening his eyes.

"Hey, I know you hate everything, but at least try to act like you care!" Knuckles said grouchily.

"I do care." Scourge said, sitting up and crossing his arms. "Care enough to notice something that you guys didn't." Rouge sighed and turned to face him.

"What?" Rouge asked.

"How many bullet holes are there?" Scourge asked.

"Just the one. Is that everything?" Knuckles replied. "We've established that point a while ago." Scourge snickered and shook his finger.

"Then why didn't Mr. Green or Mrs. White see the killer?" Scourge asked.

"What do you mean?" Knuckles asked.

"Think about it." Scourge stood up and walked to the back of the dining room table, the end furthest away from the bullet hole. "In order for there to be only one bullet hole in this room, the killer would have to be standing right here."

"I still don't follow." Knuckles said.

"I do." Rouge said.

"What?!" Knuckles was frustrated. "Come on, what's this big secret I'm not getting?"

"Think about it!" Rouge said. "If there was only one bullet hole, the killer would have been in the room, and Mr. Green, Mrs. White, and Mr. Boddy would have been able to identify the killer."

"But the best Mr. Green could do was to say 'someone' just tried to shoot Mr. Boddy." Scourge said, grabbing a small wooden rod from a floral centerpiece in the middle of the table. He stuck the rod in the hole and turned to face the opposite side of the room. He brought his face close to the rod and pointed.

"What are you doing?" Knuckles asked.

"Looking at the angle the bullet entered the wall. Check behind that plant." Knuckles stared at Scourge for a bit longer before walking over and grabbing the vase the plant was resting in.

"Uh, guys, you might want to come see this!" Knuckles said as he set down the plant. Scourge and Rouge both walked over to see what he was looking at.

The second bullet hole.

…...

_Interrogation 002_

…...

**11:15 p.m.**

"Your name sir?" Sonic asked, putting a pencil to a piece of paper.

"Colonel James Mustard." The crocodile replied in a militant manner.

"Colonel Mustard? Really?" Josh asked, crossing his arms, looking more suspicious than ever.

"Yes sir!" The crocodile replied somewhat hesitantly, not quite sure how to respond to Josh's reaction. Josh rolled his eyes.

"...Acting colonel?" Sonic asked, not quite sure why his brother was so irritable.

"No sir, I was discharged just last month sir." Mustard responded once again in a militant tone.

"And what have you been doing during the month you've been off duty?" Sonic asked, making a quick note.

"Job hunting sir. When I was discharged my pay-check went with it." The crocodile reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small box, looked inside, threw the box in the trash and pulled out another one. "Mind if I smoke?" He asked as he removed the plastic from the outside.

"I do actually." Josh spoke up. The crocodile nodded and stowed the box back into his pocket.

"Sorry sir. Didn't mean to offend you sir." Mustard said.

"Okay, cut the crap." Josh said standing up.

"Josh...?" Sonic looked worriedly.

"I tried to be patient and play along. But don't you think you're taking this a bit too far, dragging me and Sonic into all of this?"

"What do you mean?" The Colonel asked.

"This whole charade! You, the peacock, Mr. Boddy, all of it!" Josh said.

"I'm an honest man!" The crocodile said gruffly. "Why would you think I would lie about trying to kill my friend?"

"Oh, I dunno, your names for one! Colonel Mustard, Mrs. Peacock, Mrs. Scarlet, Mrs. White, Reverend Green, and I bet that fox was Professor Plum, am I right?" Josh looked somewhat tired and annoyed.

"How did you know his name?" Mustard asked wide-eyed.

"Okay, you have two choices here." Josh put his hands on the table. "You can either drop the mystery dinner act now and you can leave, or we can continue to interrogate you and waste everyone's time." Josh sounded calm, but a sharp edge could be heard in his voice, making the Colonel shift uncomfortably in his seat. Josh suddenly staggered back, as if he were pushed, and held his head. "...I...I'm sorry Colonel, I don't know what came over me. I apologize for the way I acted, that was out of line. I forget, you guys probably don't have CLUE here."

"CLUE?" Mustard asked.

"Nothing!" Josh quickly covered up. "I'm sorry, y-you're free to go now." Mustard sat for a moment more, staring at Josh before heading out the door.

"Josh, what's going on? You just snapped." Sonic stood up and walked towards Josh.

"I don't feel so good..." Josh rubbed his temple, his head throbbing. Sonic helped Josh over to a chair.

"You've never been so irritable before..." Sonic said. "And now you have a headache all of a sudden. What's going on?"

"I don't know..." Josh put his arms on the table and put his head on top of his arms. Josh closed his eyes. "My head's pounding..." Sonic stared at his little brother before rubbing his own head a bit. Josh looked up. "You got a headache too?"

"...Now that you mention it, yeah. A small one, but it's there." Sonic rubbed his head again. "I'm just a bit confused, I just don't see why Mrs. Peacock or the Colonel would want to kill Mr. Boddy."

"The Colonel is angry that his funding was cut off." Josh said simply.

"...What?"

"The Colonel is a smoker. That's a pretty expensive habit, especially considering he already went through a pack today." Josh slowly stood up and walked over to the trash. He pulled out the cigarette box and set it on the table. Sonic picked it up and studied it.

"...So the guy doesn't get his smokes. So what?" Sonic asked.

"How expensive are they?" Josh asked, setting his head back in his arms.

"...I don't know, pretty cheap for a cigarette I guess." Sonic shrugged. "I don't smoke, so I don't know how expensive they are."

"If it's less than $10.00, then this guy is buying cheap." Josh said.

"We don't use dollars." Sonic reminded Josh.

"Right." Josh sighed. "So, you don't know if the price is cheap?" Sonic shook his head. "Who else here smokes?"

"Besides the colonel? I dunno, Scourge maybe?"

"Well put that one up on our "things to ask Scourge" list." Josh buried his head in his arms.

"Come on, you need to rest." Sonic said, pulling Josh up. "Let's head back to the Parlor, you can sleep in there."

"But the murd-"

"I'll worry about that, let's just get you rested." Sonic said.

"...Okay. Make sure you stop the tape." Josh said.

"I will-"

…...

_End of Interrogation 002_

…...

"Nothing in the kitchen." Rouge reported, meeting up with Knuckles and Scourge in the hallway.

"Well, there aren't any other doors." Knuckles said.

"I wouldn't be too sure." Scourge said. "Listen." He knocked on the wall. It sounded hollow, like when you knock on a door.

"There's something on the other side." Rouge pressed her ear against the wall.

"Yes, thank you Captain Obvious." Scourge rolled his eyes. Rouge shot him a dirty look before closing her eyes and listening.

"...It's a short room, possibly a hallway." Rouge said.

"That's impossible, there aren't any more rooms or hallways in that direction." Knuckles replied.

"Maybe it's for maintenance, like plumbing or electricity." Rouge said. "I've robbed a few mansion that try to keep any pipes, wires, and fuse boxes somewhere only the staff can reach them."

"How many is 'a few?'" Knuckles asked, crossing his arms and looking at Rouge scornfully.

"Oh get off it!" Rouge shot back. "I'm a treasure hunter, I hunt where the treasure is, is that a crime?"

"Hmm, breaking and entering, last I checked, YES!" Knuckles yelled, getting in Rouge's face.

"Glad to see you two are getting along so well." Sonic said, walking past the two and supporting a doubled-over Josh.

"What's wrong with him?" Rouge asked, looking at Josh with confusion and a slight touch of concern.

"I don't know, I'm just taking him back to the parlor to rest." Sonic said.

"Sonic... can I sit down for just a minute?" Josh asked tiredly.

"We're almost there bud." Sonic replied kindly. "Just a few more steps." Josh tried to take another step, but collapsed. "Josh?!" Sonic quickly kneeled down, concern and panic clear in his face.

"I-I'm fine." Josh replied weakly. "I just lost my balance." Josh tried to stand up once again, but fell down. Sonic gently picked Josh up and started carrying him to the Parlor.

"We're almost there bud." Sonic said quietly. "Just hang tight."

Josh suddenly let out a scream. Sonic jumped, making him almost drop Josh.

"Come on, let's hurry!" Sonic said. As their group got closer and closer to the door, Josh's screams of pain became louder, agony becoming more and more apparent in each shriek. As Sonic neared the door, Josh broke into a cold sweat, as he gritted his teeth to try to stop screaming. However it held to no use, as the screams became shrieks, echoing across the room at an almost deafening volume.

Then, it all disappeared. All of Josh's screaming stopped, as if someone had pressed mute on a television. Sonic looked at Josh to see that Josh looked calm and confused.

"...Do you feel okay?" Sonic asked.

"...Yeah... just fine actually." Josh said slowly. Sonic carefully stood Josh up. Josh nodded at Sonic, telling him that he was okay. Then the two stepped into the room.

They stopped cold in their tracks. As the rest of the group filed in, they too stopped. Everyone was staring at the table.

Something was different.

On the table were two board games. One was rather large, and had what appeared to be an overhead shot of a mansion, with eight rooms. On the side of the board, in big, bold, white block letters was the word "CLUE." The other was a small wooden board, decorated with ornate spirals around the edges, and a small sun and moon in the upper right and left hand corners. In the middle was the letters A-Z, the numbers 0-9, and the words "yes" and "no." Resting on top of the board was a small disk with a hole in the middle of it.

"What... are those?" Rouge asked, looking at the two game boards with curiosity.

"They're... They're from where I live." Josh said, walking over to the table. "That's called CLUE, it's a mystery solving game. And that..." Josh looked at the small wooden board with disdain. "That's called an Ouija board. They're evil little things."

"What makes them so evil?" Scourge asked, sounding somewhat excited.

"They supposedly open a window into the world of the dead, making it possible to talk to spirits. I don't know if I believe it's true or not, but I do know that bad things befall those who use it." Josh said, crossing his arms, his gaze never leaving the wooden board. Sonic walked over and stood next to Josh.

"Something funny's going on here." Josh continued, looking at Sonic, then looking back at the wooden board. "I don't know what..."

"Well, why don't we ask the spirits?" Scourge said, walking towards the Ouija board.

"No!" Josh yelled, blocking the way. "That thing is evil!"

"Come on, it's just a game!" Scourge said, pushing Josh out of the way.

"We don't know that for sure! That thing doesn't belong here! Plus, think about it, why is it even here? You guys don't make these on Mobius!" Josh insisted.

"All the more reason to try it out! I might not get another chance to!" Scourge said, examining the small disk, then setting it back on the board.

"Okay, fine, do what you want!" Josh said, turning to leave. "See if I care if you curse us all, or send some kinda poltergeist into the man-"

"Is it supposed to move on its own?" Rouge asked. Josh stopped in his tracks.

"...What letters is it stopping on?" Josh asked.

"H... E... L... L... O..." Knuckles read.

"See, he's friendly!" Scourge said, as he reached down to grab the disk.

"DON'T TOUCH THAT!" Josh said, quickly turning around. Scourge quickly withdrew his hand. "Don't touch anything, don't touch the board, don't touch the planchette, don't even stand close to it, just everyone back away." The group did as Josh told, taking a few steps back from the table. Everyone except Scourge that is. He simply stood where he was, sneering.

"Scourge, I'm telling you, nothing good comes from playing that game." Josh said.

"Sounds like my kind of game." Scourge said, kneeling down.

"Don't!" Josh said quickly, lunging towards Scourge. The green hedgehog simply knocked the boy away. Sonic growled and started to move towards Scourge, but Josh held up his hand. Sonic hesitated for a moment, then crossed his arms. Josh nodded and stood up. "Scourge, you don't know what you're dealing with! This is all beyond us, I say we just throw the board into the fireplace and let it burn."

"I'd listen to him if I were you." Sonic said warningly.

"Like I said before, it's just a game! What's the worst that could happen?" Scourge reached down to touch the planchette. Josh quickly lunged toward the green hedgehog, tackling him to the ground.

"Quick, someone throw that thing in the fire!" Josh yelled, struggling to keep Scourge on the ground. Knuckles and Sonic crossed over to Scourge and helped pin his arms and legs down, while Rouge scooped up the board and flung it into the fire place. Scourge groaned and stopped struggling.

"Fine killjoy, have it your way." Scourge rolled his eyes. Josh slowly got up, and Knuckles and Sonic both let go.

"Maybe this time you'll-"

"Josh, it's not burning!" Rouge called out, staring into the fire. Josh stared at Rouge for a moment before scurrying over to the fire place.

The board indeed wasn't burning. It seemed to instead give off an eerie green flame, as the planchette on the board started to move once again.

P-L-E-A-S-E-I-W-I-S-H-T-O-H-E-L-P

"See, that thing is evil!" Josh exclaimed, pointing at the board. The rest of the group crossed over towards the fire and took a look.

"Who are you?" Scourge asked.

"Would you shut up!" Josh yelled turning towards Scourge. "Don't provoke it!"

A-F-R-I-E-N-D

"See, it's friendly!" Scourge said.

"Okay, you listen and you listen good." Josh said, pushing his way towards Scourge, getting in his face. "All that thing ever brings anyone is misery. You want to mess with dark magic? Fine!" Josh said, pushing Scourge. "But don't say I didn't warn you!" Josh pointed at Scourge with a fiery look in his eyes, causing Scourge to squirm a bit. Josh staggered back a bit and held his head, much like he had during the interview. A look of confusion crossed the young man's face, before turning into a look of reserved anger, not at all like the one he had mere seconds ago. He slowly turned and walked towards the couch. Sonic, looking concerned and a bit confused himself, followed him.

"Josh...?" Sonic asked quietly.

"Something's horribly wrong..." Josh said quietly, taking a seat on the couch and leaning forward. He brought a fist to his lips, making him look like he was in deep thought.

"What do you think it is?" Sonic asked, sitting down next to him. Josh slowly shook his head.

"I don't know." Josh replied. Josh looked over to the fire place, where Scourge, Rouge, and Knuckles were staring at him. When they realized Josh was staring back, they quickly pretended to look somewhere else. Josh softly chuckled before turning back to the table in front of him.

"...Ever since we set foot in the mansion, you've been acting a bit off." Sonic said. "Are you angry about something?"

"Not as far as I know. I just get so angry sometimes, and I don't know why..." Josh said. "It's almost as if I'm someone else..." Josh slowly turned back to the fireplace, this time staring at the small green flames. Josh quickly shook his head. "No, I don't believe that. I don't want to believe that! There is no way someone is taking over my body!" Josh said defensively.

"What else do you think it could be then?" Sonic asked.

"...We could ask the Spirits." Josh offered. "They seem pretty smart." Sonic nodded. Josh held the hand with the ring on it out in front of him. Sonic grabbed it.

"You rang?" The Yellow Spirit asked before the world faded away in a burst of yellow and green light...

…...

Sonic and Josh saw both the Yellow and Green spirits standing before them. The world had somehow divided itself in half, one side being the blank world of the Green spirit, and the other being the amusement park of the yellow.

"Sounds like quite the mystery you guys have." The Yellow spirit put a hand on his hip.

"We have that pretty under control, thankfully." Josh said. Sonic noticed that Josh sounded much more upbeat than he had in the mansion. Josh seemed to notice it to. "...It's funny." Josh said. "I feel like a weight's been taken off of me..."

"Weight?" The Green Spirit pondered, her ears twitching slightly.

"Are you having random changes in emotion?" The Yellow Spirit asked.

"Yeah. Does it have to deal with you guys?" Josh asked.

"Not us, but with Chaos Energy." The Green Spirit replied.

"You know what I mean." Josh said, rolling his eyes.

"What does Chaos Energy have to do with anything?" Sonic asked.

"Josh, do you remember when I was talking to you about why you should not turn into 'Super Josh?'" The Yellow Spirit asked, turning to Josh.

"Yeah, you said my body couldn't handle the energy." Josh said.

"The sudden headaches and pains you get are the result of your body trying to reject the Chaos Energy, much like how your body will try to repel a virus." The Green Spirit explained.

"Why hasn't this happened before, like when I found you two?" Josh asked.

"Your body call only handle certain amounts of it, much like how you can gain small amounts of a bacteria without getting sick." The Yellow Spirit said.

"So, what happens when I actually come in contact with the Red Emerald?" Josh asked.

"You will be in great pain, worse than any you've felt before." The Green Spirit said.

"You body will try to fight the foreign source, but when it doesn't find anything..." The Yellow Spirit trailed off, and rubbed the back of his head.

"...My body will start to attack itself?" Josh finished. "I've taken enough Biology to know how this works... kinda."

"So what does that mean?" Sonic asked.

"If I touch the Red Emerald, my body will start to eat itself from the inside out." Josh said, shuddering.

"Then I'll just collect the Emeralds from now on." Sonic offered.

"While kind, it would not have the same effect as when Josh touches the Emerald." The Yellow Spirit said.

"The ring on Josh's finger allows him to safely store the extra energy we have gathered into it, allowing us to remain in control of our urges to seek out emotions to fuel us." The Green Spirit said.

"What does that mean?" Josh asked. "You make it seem like you're leeches or something."

"When not residing on you ring, we give in to the surplus of emotion we have been filled with, turning into carnal, vicious beasts." The Green Spirit said. "We seek out and latch onto those who are filled with the emotion we crave."

"Like Blitz." Sonic said.

"Exactly." The Yellow Spirit nodded. "If you, Sonic, were to simply pick us up, we would probably disappear moments later, trying to find someone with a strong enough emotion to satisfy our hunger."

"Well, what can we do then?" Josh asked. "If I can't touch the Emeralds, and Sonic can't hold them, we're sunk! Eggman's already won."

"...Well... there is... one option." The Green Spirit said slowly. "But it is not ideal."

"It is very dangerous." The Yellow Spirit said.

"Do we really have a choice at this point?" Sonic asked.

"...No, I suppose not." The Yellow Spirit said, sounding a bit sad.

"...Okay. Josh, you come here and stand with me." The Green Spirit said, walking towards the thin line that divided the two areas of the Spirits. "Sonic, go stand with Ilo."

"Ilo?" Sonic asked, looking confused.

"That is my name." The Yellow Spirit said, walking over to face the Green Spirit. "She is Pelko." Sonic walked over and stood next to Ilo. He turned and faced Josh, who was standing right across from him.

"So what are you going to do?" Josh asked.

"Put your hands up like this." Pelko said, holding her two hands up as if she were pressing on a wall. Ilo did the same, putting his hands palm to palm with Pelko. Josh and Sonic mimicked them.

"Guys, what are you doing?" Josh asked again. A sudden loud click, almost like the sound of a giant lock engaging, accompanied by a small flash between Josh and Sonic's hands caused the two brothers to jump. However, even though their bodies tried to distance themselves, their hands didn't move. They were locked in place.

"We're going to have you share some of Sonic's body." Pelko said.

"What do you mean?" Josh asked.

"Since your body can't handle the force of the Chaos Emeralds, if we merge your body slightly with his, you will be able to deal with the Energy." Pelko explained.

"So, we're going to share a body?" Sonic asked, looking a little freaked out.

"No! Well, yes, but... Just wait, you will see what she means." Ilo said. The two walked off, as the world around Josh and Sonic darkened.

"Wait, is it going to go completely dark?" Josh asked, sounding somewhat panicked.

"What's wrong?" Sonic asked, as the world grew darker and darker. "Are you afraid of the dark?"

"Yeah, it's one of the reasons I have a hard time with haunted houses." Josh said, sounding embarrassed.

"Don't be embarrassed bud, it's okay." Sonic said. "Just remember, I'm right here."

The world finally fully darkened out. Nothing could be seen. Josh started to squirm, and whimper.

"Hey, hey!" Sonic called out soothingly. "I'm right here, it's okay." Josh started to calm down a bit.

"Keep talking. The sound helps fill the darkness." Josh said, his voice slightly wavering.

"Okay, well, what do you want to talk about?" Sonic asked.

"...How about the mystery. Let's compare notes, see what we know."

"Fine by me." Sonic said. "So, what _do_ we know."

"Someone tried to shoot Mr. Boddy. We don't know who though." Josh started.

"The only people who were in the room at the time of the shooting were Reverend Green and Mrs. White." Sonic continued. He gasped a bit, as energy seemed to shoot through him, and go into his hands. Josh gave a small yelp as the energy entered into him.

"Right." Josh said. "...Wait, if they were in the same room, wouldn't they have seen the killer?"

"That's what I was thinking." Sonic said. "I think the killer was somewhere else, maybe outside or in another room. But that's just me, what else do we know for sure?"

"The only people outside the room were Mrs. Peacock, the Colonel, Professor Plum, and Ms. Scarlet." Josh said.

"How do you know he's a Professor?" Sonic asked.

"There's too much of a pattern going on. It's almost exactly like the board game you saw in the Parlor with the Ouija board. It's called CLUE, and basically, you have to figure out which room the victim, Mr. Boddy, was killed in, with which weapon, and by who."

"And the 'who' was one of six people?" Sonic ventured.

"Yep." Josh said. Another wave of energy passed through the two. "Okay, that's going to get annoying really fast."

"Yeah, no doubt." Sonic replied, laughing a bit.

"So, did the appearance of the two board games trigger my sickness do you think?" Josh asked.

"I don't see why not." Sonic said. "But that means someone would have had to use Chaos Energy to get them."

"You think someone had access to the Chaos Emerald?" Josh said.

"There's no other way they could have brought the two games to our world." Sonic said.

"But it's impossible, the Spiri-" A stronger wave of energy made Josh yelp again. He composed himself before continuing. "The Spirits said that they need all seven of them to transport something between worlds. Plus, how would anyone here know about the board games?"

"Do you think someone from Earth came here?" Sonic asked.

"I really don't know Sonic." Josh said. "It sounds like the only solution, but something just seems wrong about it." A strong surge shot through the two of them, causing Josh to collapse a bit. "They're getting more frequent." Josh grunted as he stood back up.

"Why doesn't it sound right?" Sonic asked, trying to take Josh's mind off the pain.

"I don't know. Everything seems too... convenient." Josh said. "The killer missed Mr. Boddy because he was out of the room. Then two board games appear in the Parlor. I don't know how, but I'm pretty sure the murderer has something to do with the board games." A stronger jolt went through the two, causing Josh to fall over this time.

"Now I see why our hands need to be locked together, we'd be pulling apart if they weren't." Josh said, slightly out of breath.

"Yeah," Sonic said, kneeling down to join Josh. "No kidding."

"Why does it have to be so dark?" Josh moaned a bit.

"Relax, I'm right here still." Sonic said.

"I know that, that doesn't make things any less creepy." Josh said. Another wave passed through, causing Josh to grunt in pain. "Are you just immune to the pain, or are you that strong?"

"It's not really hurting me..." Sonic said. "It feels like... I don't know, like something's leaving me."

"Well, whatever's leaving you, it's coming into me." Josh said, as another shot of energy coursed into him. "Your life force I'm guessing." Josh grunted.

"How bad does it hurt?" Sonic asked, his voice full of concern. Another shock went through the two, this time causing Josh to scream slightly. "That bad huh?" Josh laughed slightly.

"How can you make jokes at a time like this?" Josh asked Sonic teasingly. Another shock caused him to double over and yelp.

"Anything to get your mind off of things." Sonic said, as yet another jolt passed into Josh.

"They're-YAH-getting faster!" Josh grunted, as two more bolts passed into him. "Why do you hafta be so strong?"

"Thanks... I think." Sonic said. Three more shocks passed through the two, causing Josh to fall over. "It's okay, I think it's almost over!" Sonic said as reassuringly as he could. Josh didn't respond, as bolt after bolt after bolt coursed into him, one after another. Josh grit his teeth as he tried to remain upright. Sonic wanted to do something, but he couldn't move his hands from Josh's. He sat there, helplessly, as he listened to Josh's grunts and wheezes. Soon, it was a continuous flow of energy. Josh shut his eyes.

"This... really sucks!" Josh grunted, trying to remain composed.

"Just let it out!" Sonic said.

"Let what out?" Josh asked.

"Scream!" Sonic said. The black void was filled with a guttural cry, as Josh opened his mouth to the sky. The world flashed once more.

…...

Josh's eyes quickly snapped open, as he sat up. He and Sonic were back in the Parlor.

"You okay?" Sonic asked. Josh turned to look at him. Josh smiled.

"Yeah. Much better." Josh replied. He no longer felt the anger that the Red Emerald brought to him. He felt at peace.

"Woah!" Sonic gasped. "Dude, your eyes!" Josh squinted, confused. He looked around the room for a mirror, and found one. He walked toward it and looked at his reflection.

Looking back was himself. Except for his eyes. His eyes were a bright green.

Just like Sonic's. Josh smiled.

"I like 'em." Josh said, turning back. "I always did like your eyes." Sonic smiled.

"Guys, you may want to come see this." Rouge called over from the fireplace. Sonic's smile dropped, as he looked at Josh. Josh nodded, and the two walked over.

The Ouija board was still in the fire, but now there was something else. Five small figurines, each about the height of your thumb.

They looked exactly like us.

**JJ: OOOOOOOooooh, that took FOREVER to write! I had writer's block so bad. But it's gone now! Unfortunately, while trying to move that block, I kinda had to rearrange everything in the place I write. (It was a big block. Took forever to get it out the front door and into the trash.) So, because of that, I seemed to have... er... misplaced Josh. I'll try to find him by the next chapter.**

**In the meantime, I've got another small bit of news! I've already got two other stories planned out! I will continue to write MBK, (I already have the final battle planned out and everything! It's gonna be HUGE!) but I'm also going to start dabbling outside the area of Sonic the Hedgehog. I'm actually gonna bounce around from topic to topic, since I don't really have a favorite anything right now. I love everything! Anyways, the first one you're going to see is related to the Professor Layton series, and the other one, is based on Pokemon. I have some "clever" ideas that might make you look at each series in a whole new way.**

**Well, until then, this is JJ, signing off...**

**I think I found Josh's left foot.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 19**

**11:30 p.m.**

"Is that... us?" Rouge asked. Knuckles grabbed a pair of tongs from a rack next to the fire and carefully removed each of the five small figurines.

"I don't know, how many humans do you know here?" Josh asked, reaching down to grab the figurine that looked like him. He pulled back quickly, the figurine burning him, still being hot from the fire.

"How did those get there?" Sonic asked.

"Our ghost friend sent us them." Knuckles said, motioning to the Ouija board, still in the fire.

"Guys, it's moving again!" Rouge said. Everyone quickly gathered around the fire, with the exception of Josh.

P-L-A-C-E-O-N-T-H-E-B-O-A-R-D

"I think it wants us to put the pieces on the Ouija board." Knuckles said.

"No." Josh said from the back. Josh was staring at the other game board. Josh picked up the pieces and walked over to the board. "We're not playing Ouija..." Josh placed the six pieces in a large area on the side of the board marked Parlor. "We're playing Clue." The five small figurines began to slowly slide across the board, the four animals arranging themselves around the fire and the human standing near a table.

"What is that?" Sonic asked, walking over to the table. As he did, the small Sonic figurine moved across the Parlor to the table.

"The pieces are responding to our movements." Josh said.

"The ghost's speaking." Scourge said, watching the planchette.

F-O-L-L-O-W-M-E

"How can we follow it? It's a ghost!" Rouge said.

"Guys?!" Josh called from the table. Knuckles, Rouge, and Scourge quickly ran over to the table. The five figurines were moving. The Knuckles, Scourge, and Rouge pieces were moving to the kitchen, while the Sonic and Josh pieces were moving to the Lounge.

"We go to where the pieces go." Sonic said. "Whatever it is wants to help."

"Why?" Rouge asked.

"Do you really want to argue with a ghost?" Scourge asked.

"Don't give me attitude." Rouge shot back.

"Come on, let's just go." Scourge rolled his eyes and walked out. The room sat in silence for a moment.

"How much longer until the rain stops?" Rouge asked the group.

"Not soon enough. Come on." Knuckles said. The two walked out, following Scourge.

"Does this whole thing seem fishy to you?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah. Out of nowhere, a ghost just shows up out of the blue, wanting to help us." Josh said, thinking. "Now I really think this was set up."

"Should we listen to it?" Sonic asked.

"For now, why don't we." Josh said. The two nodded and made their way to the lounge.

…...

Josh stepped into the dimly lit Parlor.

"Ah, our young detectives." A calm voice called from inside. He had a clear British accent, and a proper one at that. "Any leads?"

"Professor... Plum?" Josh asked, walking in, Sonic following behind him. Josh coughed slightly, as the room was thick with smoke from cigars.

"At your service." The Professor replied, taking a quick puff from a cigar. His yellow fur shone through the smoke like a beacon. He sat, leaning in an arm chair.

"Could you put that cigarette away?" Josh asked, waving away the smoke in front of him. The Professor shrugged and snuffed out the cigar in the nearby ashtray.

"So, what can I do for you?" The Professor asked, standing up. Sonic and Josh looked at each other.

"That... is a great question." Josh said, turning back to the Professor.

"Did anything, I dunno, strange or supernatural happen to you before we came in?" Sonic asked.

"...No, not to my knowledge." The fox said. "The only strange things I've seen is the attempted murder of John and Scarlet's new... er... well, let's just say she had some work done." The fox chuckled a bit. Josh nervously cleared his throat.

"We could interview him." Sonic suggested.

"One step ahead of you!" Josh said, smiling and pulling the tape recorder out of his pocket. "Professor, if you don't mind."

"Not at all." The Professor motioned the two to sit at a couch, while he sat at an armchair. Josh set the recorder on the table, and pushed record.

…...

_Interrogation 003_

…...

"Name please?" Josh asked.

"Didn't we just discuss this?" The Professor asked.

"It's just for information's sake. So we can refer to it later." Sonic explained, chuckling.

"Ah, right. How stupid of me. Ah, Professor Travis Plum."

"Alright Professor." Josh said, jotting down a quick note. "What is your... Professor... degree in...?" Josh said, searching for words.

"My Professor degree?" Plum asked, chuckling.

"I think he wants to ask what you teach." Sonic said.

"He isn't a scientist?" Josh asked, somewhat shocked at the news.

"No, I'm a Professor of Biology at Lawrence College." The Professor answered.

"Lawrence College? As in _The_ Lawrence College?" Sonic asked.

"Is there any other?" The Professor asked with a smile.

"I'm guessing this is a big college." Josh said.

"You have to be incredibly smart to get into it." Sonic said.

"...As I recall, you did at one point." The Professor said, studying Sonic. "Although, you weren't in my class."

"You went to college?" Josh asked.

"Yep. Got my Four-Year degree. Sorry Professor, I don't remember you." Sonic said apologetically.

"Super smart, musically talented... don't tell me, he's psychic too." Josh thought to himself.

"That's fine Sonic. I wouldn't expect you to, you never had my class I believe." The Professor chuckled. "Oh, look at me, rambling on like an old man, you have an interview to get to!"

"Right." Josh said. "So, how well do you know the Boddy family?"

"Very well!" The Professor exclaimed. "Me and John met in college, I was the best man at his wedding, and I was there for the birth of his sons and daughter."

"Where's the wife?" Josh asked, taking a note.

"Dead. For about 3 years now." Professor Plum said sadly. "Maria was a wonderful woman. Very kind."

"I'm sorry for your loss." Sonic said.

"What about his kids, what can you tell me about them?" Josh circled something on his paper.

"His youngest is his daughter, Mary. He named her after his wife. She's only about 16, at a friend's house right now I think. Arthur is the next oldest. He's going to college right now, studying to be an artist. His oldest, Atticus, went off to pursue a career in acting." The Professor sighed. "They've grown up so fast... I have some photos if you'd like to see them." The Professor pulled out his phone and brought up a screen full of pictures. He gave it to Josh, who busied himself studying them.

"Where were you when the shooting happened?" Sonic asked.

"I was with the other four, Scarlett, James, and Delilah. We were trying to help Scarlet find the powder room." Plum rolled his eyes. "That woman..."

"Okay, I think we have what we need. Thank you Plum." Josh said.

"We do?" Sonic asked Josh as Plum stood up to leave.

"Yeah!" Josh showed Sonic the notes he was taking.

"...You're kidding." Sonic said.

"No, I think this is the answer. He's clever, I'll give him that. He created plenty of red herrings. But I think we've got the real culprit this time. We just need our other little group to find the weapon." Josh said. "And we have to do it before midnight."

"What's at midnight?"

"The time safe, it's going to unlock."

"You think he's going to take the Emerald?" Sonic asked, standing up.

"Yes. This was never about murder." Josh said, pressing stop on the recorder.

…...

_End of Interrogation 003_

…...

Rouge, Knuckles, and Scourge walked into the kitchen. It was simple, and rather empty.

"So what are we supposed to do here?" Rouge asked, going over to the sink and picking up a dirty dish.

"Beats me." Knuckles said, as he inspected the refrigerator. Scourge busied himself by leaning against a wall and putting on his sunglasses. Rouge looked over at the hedgehog, a look of annoyance plain on her face, before going back to examine the room again.

"Quit stuffing your face Knux, the food's not yours." Rouge called over tiredly. Knuckles looked out from behind the fridge door, a piece of cake sticking halfway out of his mouth. "Any you," Rouge looked at Scourge, "You could at least try to help. The murderer could be after you next if we don't catch him."

"I am helping." Scourge said, looking around the room. He walked over to the far wall and knocked. He smiled. "X-ray specs." Scourge said, motioning to his glasses. "Among other things..." Scourge trailed off as he stared at Rouge...

"...My eyes are up here." Rouge said coldly, walking over and ripping the sunglasses off of Scourge's face. She held them out in front of her and looked through the lenses. "A secret passageway." She murmured. She shoved the glasses back at Scourge. "You may be useful after all."

"So how do we get in?" Knuckles asked between cake bites, walking over to the wall to join the other two. Scourge studied the wall for a moment, then looked at the floor. Scourge knelt down and examined the tile closely. He could see scratch marks, indicating the wall could be dragged out. Scourge felt for something to grab onto, and found a small notch near the corner of the wall. He gave a sharp pull, and the wall slid out slightly. A small whirr was heard, as something dragged the wall to the right.

"...And that's how he or she did it." Rouge said, crossing her arms and looking at the end of the secret passageway.

A small and simple contraption stood at the end, a tripod with a small revolver on top, and a string wrapped around the trigger. The string was fed into a small black box with a timer on it.

"The killer set this up so they could kill Mr. Boddy without being anywhere near the scene of the crime..." Scourge said, walking up to the contraption and picking up the gun. "The timer goes off, the string tightens, boom." Scourge slipped the string off the gun and put it in an inside pocket of his jacket.

"...And what exactly do you plan on doing with that?" Knuckles asked, eying the new lump in Scourge's jacket. Scourge just sneered and walked off.

"...Anyway, where does that leave us?" Rouge asked, walking out of the passageway.

"Without a suspect." Knuckles said crossly. "If the attempted murder was remote, it could have been anyone."

"We only have part of the puzzle right now." Rouge reminded Knuckles. "Josh and Sonic are interviewing, they might know something we don't."

…...

**11:45 p.m.**

"Okay, so we only have to interview Ms. Scarlet, right?" Sonic asked.

"Uh, no, I really don't think we do." Josh said quickly.

"I agree, let's go." Sonic said.

"Oh boys." A silky voice called from behind them. Josh and Sonic stiffened and slowly turned to look at the other end of the hallway. Scarlet was leaning on the wall, her head gently resting on a red gloved hand. "Aren't you going to interview me?" She started to walk down the hall. "I've been a naughty girl you know."

"Uh, we've got all the information we need, thank you very much." Josh said, his face turning a bright shade of red.

"But then you wouldn't be doing your job right." Scarlet walked up to Josh and put her hands on his chest. "Please? It'll just be a short interview." She brought her face close to his. "Unless you want it to go longer." Josh froze, stammering.

"Fine." Sonic pushed his way between them. "One quick interview, then you quit hitting on him." Scarlet smiled, satisfied, and walked into the closest room.

"Thanks." Josh said quietly, shaking his head.

"I'm here for you. You just leave the talking to me." Sonic said.

…...

_Interrogation 004_

…...

"So, Ms. Scarlet." Sonic started.

"Please, call me Natalie." The cat purred.

"...Ms. Scarlet," Sonic continued. "Where were you when the shooting happened?"

"I was looking for a bathroom." Natalie said. "I was with the Professor, Ms. Peacock, and Mustard if you want proof."

"No, I think we're fine." Sonic said, pretending to write something down.

"If you ask me, I think Reverend Green is the killer." Ms. Scarlet said, taking off one of her silk gloves and inspecting her nails. "He would be the type. Rumor has it he's been jealous of the property John owns."

"No, he was with Mrs. White." Sonic said.

"But remember, she was knocked out." Scarlet pointed out. "He could have done that to her."

"Then why didn't Mr. Boddy say it was the Reverend?" Josh asked, feeling a bit brave.

"Maybe he was being black mailed." The cat suggested.

"No, even then, there was enough people, Mr. Boddy could have said something, and we would have subdued Reverend Green very quickly." Josh said. "The fact of the matter is, all of you are innocent."

"...Excuse me?" Natalie looked at Josh, eyebrows raised.

"All of your alibis check out. So, unless you all tried to kill Mr. Boddy, the only other option is that someone else in the house tried to kill him." Sonic explained.

"It had to be one of us though! There's no one else here!" Natalie exclaimed. Josh smiled.

"Then my hunch is right." He said. "All we need now is the gun. Thank you Natalie." Josh hesitated for a moment, then leaned down and kissed the cat on the cheek. "Oh, you were right about one thing, he is being black mailed!" Josh said, leaving the room. Sonic and Ms. Scarlet stared at the door for a moment.

"...Does that mean he's interested?" Natalie asked.

"No." Sonic quickly said, following Josh out the door.

…...

_End of Interrogation 004_

…...

Scourge, Rouge, and Knuckles walked out of the kitchen, just as Josh and Sonic were running up to them.

"What did you guys find?" Josh asked out of breath. Scourge took the gun out of his jacket.

"The killer put this thing on a timer." Scourge said. "It could be anyone."

"But it isn't." Josh said. "We know who did it!"

"Who?" Rouge asked, curiously.

"Sonic will explain later. Right now, get everyone gathered in the parlor!" Josh said, checking his watch. "And hurry! Scourge, come with me!"

"What? Why?" Scourge whined.

"No time, come on!" Josh yelled, grabbing Scourge by the jacket and pulling him along.

…...

**11:50 p.m.**

"All right, thank you for coming everyone." Sonic said. He stood in the middle of the parlor, surrounded by the suspects. "After some time, we finally have a culprit."

"It's Scarlet, isn't it?" The Colonel said gruffly. "It's gotta be, she wouldn't be here otherwise."

"Hey, you seem pretty suspicions yourself, Mr. 'I'm a war hero and should be getting more money!'" Scarlet shot back.

"Hey! Neither of you did it!" Sonic yelled, quieting the two down.

"Well, someone tried to kill him!" Mrs. White exclaimed. "I wouldn't put it past those two."

"Nobody tried to kill him! He was never meant to be killed!" Sonic said. The room went quiet for a moment before everyone started talking, one over the other.

"Everyone, please! Quiet down, and I'll explain!" Sonic yelled over the noise. The room eventually quieted down. "Thank you." Sonic began to pace around the room, slowly. "There is someone in this house who wants something from Mr. Boddy here." Sonic said, looking at the husky. "An Emerald." Sonic continued walking. "Someone here was blackmailing Mr. Boddy this whole time. He helped stage a fake shooting to distract us, while the criminal would sneak upstairs and steal the Emerald."

"Well, who is it?" The Reverend asked. "We want to know!"

"Arthur." Sonic said simply.

"That's impossible!" Mrs. Peacock exclaimed, "He's at college right now!"

"Right." Sonic said. "Someone was posing as Arthur. He panicked when some extra guests came to the door."

"Your group." Scarlet said.

"Exactly." Sonic replied. "He needed a cover, so he posed as Arthur."

"So who is it?" The Colonel asked.

"In good time Colonel." Sonic said. "We need to wait for a bit."

"For what?" The Professor asked.

"Midnight."

…...

**11:55 p.m.**

A lone figure stood in the billiard room. His gray fur bristled, anticipation building up. He checked his watch and smirked.

"Nothing can stop me now." He said quietly. He pressed a hand to his ear piece, listening to the conversation in the parlor.

"What's at midnight?" The Professor asked.

"The safe containing the Emerald will unlock." Sonic said. The criminal stiffened. What had he missed? Were they really onto him? He relaxed. It was too late to stop him. No one could. All he had to do was reach in and take the Emerald. It would be easy.

"...Where's Josh?" Scarlet asked, her voice full of worry. The wolf pressed a hand against the ear piece again.

"Right now, he should be upstairs with the criminal, with a little help. In fact, Atticus, I think you'll find them very, very close." Sonic said. The wolves eyes widened. They knew who he was!

"Atticus was behind this?!" Reverend Green exclaimed.

"And you're talking to him, when he's not in the room?" Scarlet asked, sounding more amused than shocked.

"He had Josh's shirt bugged." Rouge said. They found the bug! Atticus started to panic. It would only be a matter of time before that human kid found him. Then, Atticus remembered something, something that relaxed him greatly. It didn't matter if they came. He had a backup. The door opened behind him.

"So, you figured it out, did you?" Atticus asked, turning around. He was slightly surprised to see not one, but two people at the door.

"It wasn't too hard." Josh said, crossing his arms over his bare torso.

"Seriously, I could have come up with something better in my sleep." Scourge said, sneering. The two walked into the room.

"Well, I hope you're ready for a fight." Atticus said, his own sneer crossing his face. He looked down at the floor. Just a few more feet...

"What's he looking at?" Josh thought, seeing Atticus' gaze. He followed it to the ground in front of them.

A trip wire. Josh followed it to a hole in the wall. He saw Scourge walking toward it. Josh thought for a moment. The green hedgehog would probably try to kill him after they got rid of Atticus. It would be the perfect time, no one would be around to stop him. If he let Scourge walk into the trap, he wouldn't have to worry about the green menace anymore.

And yet...

"Scourge, wait!" Josh grabbed the hedgehog's arm. Scourge gave Josh a sour glance, before noticing he was pointing to something.

"...Clever." Scourge said, noticing the wire. Scourge gently pushed Josh back a few feet, then carefully yanked the wire. A bullet fired across the room, embedding itself right where Scourge would have been if he had activated the trap. "Where were we?"

"About to kick some husky butt." Josh said, walking forward again.

"This won't take long." Scourge said, walking forward.

…...

**11:59 p.m.**

"You were right." Josh said. "That was a short fight!" Scourge threw Atticus to the ground and grabbed a nearby rope.

"Thanks for the 'help.'" Scourge said, tying up Atticus.

"You know I can't fight. That's why I brought you." Josh said.

"But why did _you_ need to come with _me_?" Scourge asked, sounding annoyed. A click was heard in the room.

"...That." Josh said, looking around. "The safe is open."

"Well... where is it?" Scourge asked, looking around.

"I don't know..." Josh said, studying the room. Scourge rolled his eyes and flipped his shades down.

"...I don't know what that safe is made of, but it's jamming the signal on my glasses." Scourge took off the sunglasses and hit them a few times, before trying them again. He grunted, before taking off his jacket and throwing it at Josh. "Put this on." He said gruffly.

"Uh... thanks." Josh quickly zipped up the jacket, confused at the kindness Scourge just showed him. "We have 40 seconds left."

"Where is it?" Scourge mused. Josh looked at the walls, looking for any sort of crack, when his attention was diverted to the paintings.

"...Scourge!" Josh excitedly called the hedgehog over, pointing to one painting. "Look!"

Scourge looked at the painting. Two dogs were playing a game of billiards.

"Yeah?" Scourge looked at a clock. 20 seconds.

"The room in the painting is the same as this one!" Josh waved his arm around the room. "Except for one part, in the back." Scourge squinted and looked at the painting. A small detail was added to the background, only about the size of your fist.

A safe.

Josh reached up and slid a fingernail under a small slit in the canvas of the painting, and peeled it back, revealing a gray box. Josh looked at Scourge, then pulled on a small knob on the box. The room filled with a red glow, as Josh's ring started to react to the Chaos Energy. Josh reached in and grabbed the Emerald.

The world faded away in a sea of red.

…...

Josh found himself sitting in what looked like Congress! At least, from the pictures he'd seen, it looked like some sort of Congress...

"Anger." A voice said from next to him. Josh looked over to his right. Standing next to him was an echidna, a very strong looking echidna, wearing nothing but a torn pair of jeans. "It can provoke people to do many things."

"Yeah." Josh said, leaning back in the chair he was sitting in. "Like black mail your own father so you can get rich."

"You seem defiant of me." The Echidna said, glancing down at Josh.

"From my experience, all anger has brought to anyone is trouble." Josh said, looking down at the men and women, both human and Mobian, yelling at each other over something or another.

"All?" The Echidna smiled. "What about your older brother?"

"What about him?" Josh asked, wondering where the Echidna was trying to go.

"There have been many times an anger has provoked him into action, the most recent being to protect you." The Echidna said. "Anger is not what you think of it. It doesn't have to be negative." Josh thought about what the Echidna was saying carefully.

"When Sonic found something unjust, he became angry, but he acted on that anger in a positive way." The Echidna said. "Much like these people here." Josh listened as what sounded like the leader of the Congress declared a law to come into effect. "They acted on their anger about something in a way that was non-confrontational. A debate."

"...Who are you?" Josh asked.

"You may call me Viha." The Echidna replied. "You must go. Now."

"Why, what's wrong?" Josh asked. "The other spirits usually let me stay for a while."

"You are in danger." Viha said. The world flashed red again.

…...

Josh came to, leaning against a wall. He quickly jerked up, searching for any sign of danger.

He quickly found it.

Scourge was pointing a gun right at him.

"S-Scourge... I know you were sent to kill me, but you don't want to do this!" Josh said, shakily. Scourge simply glared. "Where'd you get that gun?" Josh asked.

"This is the gun Atticus used to fake the shooting. I thought it would be fun to kill you with a gun that was only made to scare people." Scourge said, no hint of emotion evident in his voice.

"Please... don't do this!" Josh said, looking pleadingly at Scourge. His eyes scanned the room for somewhere to hide, but he realized quickly that it wouldn't be any use. Scourge was blocking the door. Any hope of escape was out the window. Josh felt the sense of impending doom return for the third time since he arrived. Josh suddenly remembered the Emeralds... his wishes! He began to slowly move his hand over his ring.

"Don't move!" Scourge yelled. "I don't want your little Chaos Spirits or whatever they are to get in my way!" Josh gulped and slowly returned his hand to his side. He squinted his eyes shut, and waited for the bullet.

He heard the click.

He heard the bang.

And, to his surprise, he heard a whoosh sail right past his head. Josh opened his eyes to see a hole in the wall behind him, right next to his forehead. Josh turned back just in time to see Scourge's foot leave the room. Atticus stood, white faced, staring at Josh.

"H-He missied." He said shakily, obviously frightened at what had happened.

"...Yeah." Josh said, staring back at the opened door, a good deal frightened himself. "I guess he did."

Sonic quickly rushed through the door.

"Where is he?!" He yelled. "Are you okay?" Sonic walked up, looking at Josh, checking for any injuries.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Josh said. "Scourge missed." Josh looked at Sonic.

"...Missed?" Sonic looked at Josh. Josh nodded, giving Sonic a "Something's up" look, as he began fiddling with the zipper on Scourge's jacket.

…...

Is it on? He-Hello? ...Okay, it's on. Hey guys, I'm back! Quite the crazy night we just had! But it's all over... for now. The Police came by early this morning to pick up Atticus. Poor Mr. Boddy was heart broken. He sent us off quietly, as he called the real Arthur to come down from college to visit. It was a very somber visit.

"Now where are you three headed off to?" Rouge asked once we were outside.

"I don't know." I replied, holding my ring out in front of me. I looked around for a while before determining that the Dark Blue Chaos Emerald was the closest. "Whatever's that way I guess!" I said pointing off.

"Well, good luck. Stay out of trouble." Rouge said, smiling. "Maybe don't get caught up in any more murder mysteries." She said, wagging a finger. I chuckled.

"Good idea." I said. I walked up to her and gave her a quick hug. "Thanks for helping." She hesitated a bit before returning the hug. We let go, she waved, and just like that, she was gone. Knuckles stood for a minute, watching her leave.

"...Hey, if you look close you can see little hearts in his eyes." I said, pretending to stare deeply into the Echidna's eyes.

"Yeah, you're right." Sonic said, mirroring me. Knuckles blushed and turned away.

"Come on, let's get going." He said gruffly, although we heard him snickering a bit too, probably realizing how love-struck he looked.

"Just a sec, I need to talk to Josh for a bit." Sonic said, looking at me with a sudden seriousness. I nodded. He started to walk off towards the grassy hills we ran across on our way up to the mansion the night before. I quickly followed. Once we were a considerable distance away, Sonic sat down under a large, shady tree and motioned for me to do the same.

"It's nice out here." I said, feeling a nice breeze brush past my face.

"Yeah... it is." Sonic said, smiling a bit. He sighed. "You know, Scourge doesn't just 'miss.'"

"I figured." I said. "Which is something I don't get. He was sent to kill me, and he had the opportunity to do it."

"You must have made a good impression on him." Sonic said, smiling a bit more.

"I guess." I replied. "...He didn't even take his jacket back." I said, raising an arm. I got my old clothes back, but over my white collard shirt, I wore the leather jacket. I had no where else to put it, it wouldn't fit in my backpack. "Is this why you wanted to talk to me?"

"Partly. I also just wanted to make sure you're okay." Sonic said.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I replied. "Shaken, not stirred."

"Are you sure? You were mumbling last night, sounded like you were having a nightmare." Sonic said, looking at me worriedly. I shrugged.

"I don't remember my dreams or nightmares, so yeah, I'm fine." I said honestly. Sonic smiled, and mussed up my hair for the umpteenth time.

"You ready to run again?" Sonic asked, standing up.

"Yeah, I actually have a question about that." I said, standing up with him. "How can you get out of the way of trees and stuff if you run at the speed of sound? Isn't it a bit hard to react sometimes?"

"I haven't run at the speed of sound yet!" Sonic said.

"But, when we first met, you broke the sound barrier I thought!" I replied, surprised.

"No, I didn't. You wouldn't have an arm if I were running super sonic with you in tow!" Sonic said, grabbing my hand. He stopped for a moment and thought. "Do you want to?"

"Go super sonic? I thought you said I would lose my arm!" I said, confused at the mixed messages. Sonic laughed and shook his head. He then gently picked me up, carrying me in his arms, like when he caught me.

"Better?" Sonic asked. I smiled.

"You sure you can run that fast with me?" I asked.

"Please, you're light as a feather." Sonic said, smirking. I laughed and shook my head.

Then it began.

Sonic started slowly, but began picking up speed. Soon the wind really began to pick up. It stung my face a bit. The world below Sonic's feet soon became a blur, and I soon couldn't look forward for too long without my eyes stinging. I turned to look at Sonic, who momentarily looked at me and smiled.

Then I heard it. For sure this time.

A loud boom.

The world went silent, as we ran faster than sound. I tried to say something, but no sound came out of my mouth. I smiled, and closed my eyes, partly because it hurt too badly to open them, and partly because I just wanted to feel the rush. It was amazing, feeling the wind on my face, the pure speed. I rested my head on Sonic's shoulder.

This was the best feeling in the world.

And not just because of the speed. I was with my brother. And, even if it was for just a moment, it was only us two.

After about three minutes, too soon in my opinion, Sonic slowed down to a stop. He gently set me down.

"How was that?" Sonic asked.

"Amazing!" I gushed. "We should do that more often!" Sonic laughed, then layed down in the grass. I layed down beside him. "...This too." I said, closing my eyes.

"You don't get to relax that often, do you?" Sonic said.

"I haven't had that much time. I've had two jobs, plus high school, and house work. I had next to no time to relax, especially not in a place like this." I smiled. It felt so warm, the grass was soft, and the air was crisp and clean. "I'm just glad we didn't have to fight anyone this time." I said, listening to the birds in the trees.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Sonic, are you okay, your voice sounds kinda horse."

"That wasn't me." Sonic said. I opened one eye, to see Eggman floating above us in his Egg-mobile. I quickly jumped up and backed away, while Sonic lazily yawned and slowly stood up. "Oh, it's just you." Sonic said sleepily, stretching out.

"You know what I want Sonic, now give it to me!" Eggman demanded.

"A new wig?" Sonic asked. "Sorry, I don't usually carry those with me."

"No, you blasted hedgehog!" Eggman yelled, pounding in anger on his control panel. "The ring!" Eggman pointed at me.

"Are you sure you don't want a wig?" Sonic asked, putting a fist on his hip. "I think you'd like it. Might cover up that... er..." Sonic motioned to the top of his head, mouthed "bald spot."

"It's not balding!" Eggman covered his head defensively. "It just... takes a while for it to gro- WAIT A MINUTE!" Eggman yelled in anger. "GET HIM!" Eggman screamed, pointing at me. From the sky, a giant robot dropped down, looking a bit like a ball on four legs.

"I've seen that before!" I exclaimed.

"Where?" Sonic asked, looking at me.

"It was from... ah..." I squeezed my eyes shut and started snapping my fingers, a habit I have when I'm trying to remember something. "Shadow the Hedgehog! It's called the Egg Dealer!" I said, running up to Sonic. "I liked this boss, 'cause it involved gambling." I said, smiling. Sonic face-palmed.

"For once, your gambling problem might help us." Sonic said, watching the Egg-mobile lower itself into the cockpit of the Egg Dealer. "How do we get rid of it?"

"There are three slot reels on the back." I said, pointing. "If you can stop each of them, the robot will attack itself."

"Really?" Sonic asked, looking at me with an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, I really don't get why he makes it so easy for you." I said. "It's like he built the robot so you could beat i-WOAH!" From behind me, something grabbed my shoulders and jerked me back.

"Metal Sonic!" Sonic sounded surprised.

"What, you didn't think I came without an elaborately thought up plan, did you?" Eggman asked.

"Most times you don't!" I called out, while being dragged away by Metal Sonic. Sonic started to chase after me. "Sonic, I'm fine, I got this!" I yelled. "You take care of Eggman!"

"How do you got this?!" Sonic asked, stopping.

"I've got all my wishes!" I called out. "Plus, I'm your little brother! Winning runs in the family!" Sonic thought about that for a moment, then smiled. He turned back to Eggman and began running behind him.

"Now, what to do with you." I said, struggling against Metal Sonic's grasp. I managed to get one of his claws off me, but he simply picked me up and threw me on his shoulder, like a sack of potatoes. "Hey, lemme go, come on!" I struggled more, but that did next to nothing. I looked tiredly at Metal Sonic. "...You don't talk much, do you?" No response. I stopped for a moment, realizing how calm I was for being dragged away by a Metal Hedgehog. Shouldn't that freak someone out? ...Must have gotten some of Sonic's bravery when the Spirits gave me some of Sonic's energy.

Or I'm just nuts. Either way.

I tried to reach my hand over the ring, only to realize that the way Metal Sonic was carrying me prevented me from moving my arms. At all.

Problem!

I began to struggle again against the metalloid's claws.

"Can't I just grant a wish from here?!" I grunted, contacting the Spirits. "I mean, I'm touching the ring, which is touching the Emeralds!" Metal Sonic looked at me briefly, somewhat confused, before focusing back on his running.

"It's a fail-safe we implemented!" Ilo apologized. "If we followed your train of logic, everyone could use our powers. The ring is touching you who is touching the ground which is touching pretty much everybody. You need to be directly holding the Emerald to make a wish." I groaned and went limp.

"Hey, can you let go please?" I asked Metal Sonic, sounding annoyed. "This isn't a good time!" Metal Sonic kept on running.

Well, running, that is, until he was suddenly full of holes.

The robot broke down, and I fell to the ground with a thump. I stood up and rubbed my sore keister, straightening myself out. I looked down at Metal Sonic.

Definitely bullet holes. All of them skillfully placed to miss me.

"Am I gonna have to do _all_ the fighting for you?" A voice said from behind. I turned around.

"Scourge!" I said, surprised. "You... you saved me."

"I couldn't let the metal freak kill you, that's my job!"

"You had the chance to. Why didn't you take it?" I asked.

"I did, remember?" Scourge said gruffly. "I missed."

"'Missed?' Those shots," I said, pointing to Metal Sonic, "Could only have hit where they are if there was a professional behind the gun. You were shooting at me from point blank, and you somehow 'missed.'"

"I didn't want to get blood all over my jacket." Scourge said quietly. He was totally lying. I removed the jacket and gave it to him.

"I'm all yours." I said, taking a step back and spreading my arms out. "Go ahead. Do it." Scourge tried to suppress a brief look of shock. He frowned, and aimed the gun at me, his hand trembling ever so slightly. Seconds passed, and those seconds slowly turned to minutes.

"...I can't." Scourge said, lowering the gun. He turned and walked away.

"Wait!" I called out. Scourge stopped. I chose my next question carefully, figuring it would be the last one I asked him for a while. "...Why can't you kill me? Even though you were ordered to?" Scourge looked back ever so slightly.

"You saved me. You knew I was trying to kill you, you knew I could have just been a figment of your imagination if I went through that tripwire. But you saved me."

"Okay? And?"

"Now we're even." Scourge walked off. I stood there, dumbfounded. It wasn't that simple, he was hiding his reason. What was it? Why couldn't he take that shot? I was so deep in thought, I almost didn't hear Sonic run up.

"Wow." Sonic said, staring at his metal counterpart. "Looks like you got him good!"

"I... had some help." I replied. "Scourge... 'missed' again." Sonic looked at me in shock, and a slight mix of confusion. "I don't know why he keeps sparing me. He seemed... conflicted when I saw him."

"Keep an eye on him." Sonic warned. "Who knows what his next move will be." I nodded.

"Let's head back, Knuckles won't be happy waiting this long." I said. Sonic rolled his eyes and nodded.

"Oh, by the way, how did the Eggman fight go?" I asked as we started walking.

"It was easy. You were right, I think he does want us to win!"

**Well, there's some food for thought for you.**

**Josh: WHAT THE HECK MAN?! Where have you been?!**

**JJ: School. AP finals stink. Like crap.**

**Josh: ...So, are you gonna be writing again, or are you gonna bury me in trash like last time?**

**JJ: I didn't mean to! -_-' I'm going to try to write again, as much as I possibly can. We'll see if I can get more chapters out quicker. I'm sincerely hoping so.**

**Josh: And those other stories you promised?**

**JJ: In the works. I have almost a chapter for the Pokemon story-**

**Josh: Oooh, a whole chapter. l=(**

**JJ: ...And I'm trying to get a good amount of puzzles for my Professor Layton story.**

**Josh: Just hurry up, you spend too much time with me.**

**JJ: Too much time?! You were just complaining about how I don't spend enough time writing!**

**Josh: Just end this! Read and review guys.**

**JJ: Dirty rotten change grubber flack doodle...**


	21. Chapter 21 Night Terrors

**Chapter 21**

**Night Terrors**

Sonic, Knuckles, and Josh had been running for a good four hours. Josh was absolutely pooped, and Knuckles and Sonic were mildly winded.

"I need... to get... in better... shape." Josh gasped, falling onto his butt.

"Just keep running, you'll get better!" Sonic said, patting his younger brother's shoulder as he walked past. Josh held his ring up. A Dark Blue glow radiated from it.

"About one more day of running." Josh guesstimated, based on how bright his ring shone when they started, and now.

"Better rest up then." Knuckles said, walking over to a nearby tree and laying down under it. Josh pulled his sleeping bag out and set it out. Mr. Boddy gave him a better one than the one he had before. This one could conserve heat!

"Night Sonic." Josh called out, watching the Blue Hedgehog disappear into a tree.

"Night bud!" Sonic called back, settling himself on a tree branch. Josh smiled, and settled in to his own bag, and letting sleep wash over him.

…...

"...is doomed Sonic!" Eggman cackled.

"Not today Eggman!" Sonic yelled back, before making a dash at him. Unfortunately, Sonic didn't see the tripwire. A gun shot was sounded, a bullet planting itself into Sonic's head. Josh tried to scream, but all that came out of his mouth was static. Josh ran up to Sonic, and tried to shake him awake.

"What's wrong Josh?" A chilling voice asked. Josh looked up to see Scourge, his eyes wide and yellow, his teeth sharp, his mouth leaking blood. "You will soon join him!" Scourge yelled. Josh quickly got up and began running down a long hall with doors as far as the eye could see. The hallway stretched on forever, as Scourge seemed to get closer and closer to Josh.

…...

Sonic awoke from his slumber to the sound of a whimper. He cracked open one eye, and looked down. Josh was curled up in his sleeping bag, in a fetal position. His legs were kicking slightly.

"What is he dreaming about?" Sonic wondered as he sat up a bit.

…...

"The Emerald requires fear!" The Doctor yelled over Josh. He tried to hide himself, but the restraints on his arms and legs kept him secured to the table. Eggman pulled out a laser and began to cut into Josh's head, a severe pain coursing through him. "Fear is in the mind!" The Doctor yelled again, his red eyes glowing.

…...

Josh suddenly let out a scream, almost causing Sonic to fall out of the tree. Sonic looked down to see Knuckles, still fast asleep.

"He could sleep through a freight train." Sonic thought to himself, looking at Knuckles with half-lidded eyes. He turned his attention back to Josh, as he quickly descended the tree.

…...

"It's okay Josh, don't be scared!" A man gently told Josh, who was huddled in a corner. Josh tried to speak, but it came out garbled.

"No, look, see, Mommy and Daddy are alive!" The man pointed to a corner of the room. Two dark figures stood there. All that could be seen were their eyes, glowing in the dark. Josh shook his head. "They are! Go and see them!" The man said earnestly. Josh stared at the two figures, watching as two mouths slowly appeared. The teeth were jagged, sharp, and blood red. Josh let out a blood curdling scream.

…...

Sonic jumped as Josh screamed out again, this time a violent flail accompanied it. Josh straightened out, his hands in front of his face. Sonic watched, worried, as his younger brother seemed to cower from some imaginary enemy. Sonic wanted to comfort Josh in some way, but what could he do? Josh was dreaming. Helpless, Sonic did the only thing he really could do.

…...

The two figures began approaching Josh. His parent's voices seemed to come from them, but their mouths didn't move.

"We love you Josh." His mom's voice said.

"Stay with us Josh." His dad's voice said.

The room became filled with Josh's name, as his parent's voices seemed to overlap. The figures moved without moving their legs, slowly getting closer and closer to Josh, their smiles getting wider. Josh tried to tell them to go away, but all that came out were the sound's of nails on a chalkboard. The figures got closer, and closer, almost 5 feet away. Josh covered his head, but he still saw them, approaching him. The figures finally couldn't take it anymore, and lunged, and then...

Then Josh was moving through a meadow. A very peaceful place. He was moving very quickly, the wind brushing his face like a sweet caress. He felt a pair of arms underneath him. Arms he knew well. Josh closed his eyes and leaned against a strong shoulder.

…...

"Sonic..." Josh mumbled. Sonic looked down, seeing that his brother was still fast asleep. The hedgehog carefully balanced his human cargo in his arms and took a great leap into the tree. He landed without much grace, but it did the trick. Sonic looked for a place to lay Josh down, and found one, two branches that were wide enough to support Josh. He gently placed the boy between the branches. After one last concerned look, Sonic layed next to his younger brother, placing a hand on Josh's thin shoulder. Sonic gave Josh one last look. Josh was still sleeping, but a much more peaceful look was on his face. Sonic smiled, and went back to sleep.

…...

Josh sat back against Sonic's shoulder, as the two of them rested underneath a shade tree. He felt Sonic's hand on his shoulder. He couldn't be any happier. The grass was so peaceful, and soft, and... sinking? Josh gave a startled yelp as he fell through the grass.

…...

Josh quickly placed his hands on the two branches beside him, helping him to pull himself out of a large crack. Josh looked around, confused. How did he get up in a tree? He wasn't sleepwalking again, was he? Josh looked down to see Sonic, sleeping peacefully, his arm on Josh's shoulder. Josh smiled.

"Thank you Sonic." Josh said quietly.

"Your welcome Josh." Sonic said just as quietly. Josh jumped a bit, as Sonic grinned, eyes still shut. "Get some sleep, we have a big day tomorrow." Sonic put both hands under his head and got comfortable. Josh laid back down and did the same.

"...Sonic?" Josh asked.

"Hmm?" Sonic replied.

"...Can you... just leave your hand on my shoulder?" Josh asked, sheepishly. Sonic opened his eyes a bit and smiled. He moved his hand to Josh's shoulder, rubbing it a bit. Josh smiled, and closed his eyes, sleep washing over him.

…...

"Sonic," Josh said, looking at his older brother, "Can we stay like this?"

"Yeah." Sonic said, smiling at Josh. Josh smiled back, and leaned his head against Sonic's shoulder. The meadow was peaceful...

…...

...and Josh slept peacefully.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

Josh's eyes fluttered open. He was greeted by the sound of birds chirping in the trees. He shut his eyes once more, taking a moment to listen to the melodious sound. Josh sat up and yawned, as Sonic's hand fell off his shoulder. Josh quickly grabbed it as it fell and gently laid it beside his brother's head.

"...Am I lucky or what?" Josh thought to himself. "I have the best brother in the world...er, world**s**." Josh tilted his head as he realized there were indeed two worlds he's visited... and possibly many more. "I have two homes now I guess, here on Mobius with Sonic, and back on Earth with..." Josh's thoughts turned to his younger brother. Josh felt a pang of sadness enter his heart, as he realized how much he still missed his younger brother. Josh slowly climbed down from the tree and began to pace around. He realized how much he missed hearing from Jacob.

His annoying, sometimes repetitive stories.

The sound of him practicing his tuba for school, even though they both knew he could play guitar much better.

His loud and cheerful laugh.

Josh felt a small tear on his chin. He quickly wiped his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I'm coming buddy. As soon as I can!" Josh said to the sky, hoping Jacob could somehow hear him.

"You still haven't used the Emerald to check on him you know." Sonic said from behind him. Josh turned and looked at the hedgehog, who was stretching out his legs.

"Yeah... I'm going to right now." Josh held his hand over his ring and summoned the red emerald. "...Do you want to see him?" Sonic smiled.

"Sure, why not?" He said, walking over. "Give me a chance to see a how Blaze is doing."

"You got a thing for her?" Josh asked.

"Nah, we're just good friends." Sonic replied

"Sure you are." Josh teased. Sonic gave him a playful punch on the shoulder, before placing a hand on Josh's hand containing the Emerald. Josh closed his eyes. "Show us my brother."

…...

Josh and Sonic opened their eyes. They were once again floating over the scene. Jacob was admiring a yellow gem in his hand. His tail swished back and forth in wonder and curiosity.

"He's beating us..." Josh thought to himself. "Unless we step it up, he's going to find his Emeralds first..."

Blaze walked up to Jacob and put an arm around him.

"It looks good!" She said, admiring the gem. "Almost exactly like the real thing!"

"Why do they have a decoy?" Sonic asked. Josh shrugged.

"The Spirits know what they're doing." Jacob replied. "Let's just hope this works..."

"Well, it's one of Silver's ideas so... 50/50 chance." Blaze said, laughing softly.

"And this helps me feel more confident how?" Jacob asked, smiling. Blaze shrugged and tossed the decoy back to Jacob. "...After this, we only have three to go." Jacob said quietly. "Then I can see Josh again." Josh was happy to know that Jacob was thinking about him too.

"...Jake, are you... happy? You know, with me adopting you and everything." Blaze asked. "You can always go live with Josh and Sonic, I'll understand if you do."

"Are you kidding?" Jacob hugged Blaze. "Sonic may be cool and all, but I don't know him like I know you." Blaze smiled and hugged him back. "Plus, you've taken good care of me this far, why would I go live with a complete stranger?" Blaze chuckled and kissed the top of his head. She finally pulled away.

"Come on, let's finish this up. After this, we only have three left!" Blaze said. Jacob smiled, his ears lifting in excitement. The two walked off in search of Silver.

…...

Josh and Sonic's eyes snapped open.

"Well... that was short." Josh said, a bit surprised.

"Guess there wasn't much to show." Sonic shrugged.

"Does it bug you that Jacob likes Blaze over you?" Josh asked, tilting his head and smiling a bit.

"Maybe." Sonic said with mock indignation. He smiled and shook his head.

"Quiet down..." A voice grumbled. Knuckles was still asleep at the base of a tree. Sonic rolled his eyes.

Josh's stomach growled loudly.

"Sonic..." Josh said, looking down at his gut. "...Do you think there's something inside of me? Like something living?" Sonic made a gross face.

"Yeah, I betcha it's an alien wanting to bust out!" Sonic shook his head. "You just get really hungry bud, trust me, you're fine." Sonic started to walk towards a small grove of trees. "Let's find some food, I'm sure there's something we can pick out here."

…...

Hello! Uh, this is... what entry is this, six I think? No, five! That's right. It's getting harder to keep track, and I don't know if that's a good thing. Eh, whatever, I don't care too much. I've never been that orderly anyways.

Anywho, this little segment of the Great Emerald Hunt as I've been calling it has actually been really fun! Not like the last two, this one was just pure fun and adrenaline! Let me explain, from the beginning.

So we were running, as usual, to try and find the Dark Blue Emerald...

"We should be getting close guys!" I yelled over the wind. Sonic had a firm grasp on my hand, and I was doing my best to stay upright, as usual. Knuckles ran alongside me and Sonic.

"How close?" Knuckles yelled back.

"Um... maybe less than an hour?" I guesstimated. "I've said this before, this thing doesn't tell me distance!"

"Right." Knuckles nodded. "Forgot about that."

I quickly noticed that I was running evenly with Sonic as he started to slow down. I looked at him with confusion.

"What?" I asked him. Knuckles stopped and looked where Sonic was looking.

"Josh... you ever been to the beach?" Knuckles was staring off in the distance, and he smiled.

"Uh... once, when I was really little, with my parents." I looked over to where they were looking. We were right next to a beautiful, and apparently little-known beach, that seemed to stretch on for miles. The forest we had been previously running through must have blocked the view.

"What do you think? A little break sound good?" Knuckles asked, looking at me. I smiled.

"A little break sound very good! Josh likey!" I said, taking off. Sonic and Knuckles ran after me. Then I quickly stopped. I remembered that Sonic didn't like the water... like, at all. I snuck a quick look at Sonic, who looked a bit wide-eyed.

"I don't have anything to swim in." I said, coming up with an excuse.

"Do you need something to swim in?" Knuckles asked.

"Well I can't exactly jump right in with my clothes on!" I replied. "Unless these are waterproof as well as odor-proof." I looked at Sonic and shot him a small smile.

"Good point..." Sonic said slowly, realizing what I was doing.

Upon closer inspection of the beach, we noticed small white ruins sticking out of the ground, with red lines around the borders of them. The whole place looked very familiar.

"...This is Seaside Hill." Knuckles said, looking around.

"Haven't been here in a while." Sonic said, looking a bit nervously at the water.

"Let's take a break later, maybe when we find a town or city, some place I can buy a bathing suit." I said to Knuckles. He shrugged.

"Whatever you say. Which way?" He asked. I held my ring out.

"Uh... that way!" I said, pointing. Knuckles dashed off, keeping an eye out for a city. Sonic waited until Knuckles was out of earshot.

"Thanks bro." Sonic said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Dude, why are you so afraid of water?" I asked, looking at Sonic concerned.

"It's not that I'm afraid... I just can't swim." Sonic said sheepishly.

"Didn't you learn?" I asked.

"No, hedgehogs can't swim." Sonic said matter of factly.

"...Yes they can." I replied.

"No, they can't." Sonic said back.

"Yes, they can!" I said. "I've seen them back home! Plus, you're more anthro than hedgehog, if I can swim, so can you!"

"...I dunno..." Sonic said nervously. I put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll teach you man. You have nothing to worry about." I said calmingly. Sonic gave me a small smile.

"Come on, Knucklehead's probably wondering where we are." Sonic grabbed my hand and sped off.

…...

"Sonic, when was this here?" Knuckles asked, dumbfounded.

"I don't know... this is new!" Sonic replied, equally dumbfounded.

"Wow..." I gasped.

We stood on the border of a large city, built right onto the beach. Palm trees littered the white cobblestone streets, as every sort of shop lined the busy sidewalks. Tanned Mobians walked, talking with their friends, going shopping, or heading to the beach to surf or relax.

"This is like some kinda cape town." I said, taking a few steps forward.

"Sonic! Oyé, Sonic!" We heard a thick Spanish accent behind. We turned to see a sombrero wearing monkey running towards us. I recognized him almost immediately.

"Is that Amigo?" I asked Sonic.

"You know him in your world too?" Sonic asked.

"He's only the main character of my favorite music game of all time!" I said quietly as Amigo approached so as not to freak the monkey out.

"Sonic! Long time no see eh?" Amigo said excitedly.

"No doubt!" Sonic high-fived the excited monkey.

"Who's your friend?" Amigo asked, looking at me.

"I'm his adopted brother, Josh." I said, shaking his hand. "I'm a big fan of your music Amigo!"

"You've heard of me!" Amigo sounded impressed.

"Yeah, I listen to you all the time. I _love_ Samba de Jainero!" I said, gushing a bit. "Funny, I didn't know you knew Sonic."

"We've met a couple of times." Sonic said. "He's come up here to North Mobius, and I've gone down to visit him in Sambadalo."

"Sambadalo's a continent, right?" I asked a bit quietly. Amigo laughed.

"Si, it's right below North Mobius." Amigo explained. "Have you been paying attention in geography?"

"Ah, always fall asleep in that class." I said, covering up for my naivity.

"What are you doing here Amigo?" Knuckles asked. Amigo turned.

"Hey Knux! I'm here to perform for the big hoverboard race! You guys are racing, right?" Amigo looked at each of us.

"Uh..." We all stared at him blankly. Amigo laughed again. He ran over and ripped a poster off the wall.

"See, it's starting tomorrow morning! It's a team race, three to a team! The grand prize is this cool blue gem!" Amigo pointed to a picture. We all did a double-take.

"The Chaos Emerald!" I almost yelled, pointing.

"Well, that's convenient." Knuckles said, crossing his arms and leaning forward to study the poster.

"You guys know about the prize?" Amigo asked.

"Yeah, we've been looking for that actually." I said. "It's really important that we get it."

"Then you guys better sign up! You're lucky you have enough people!" Amigo said.

"Very convenient..." I said, nodding.

"Well, I gotta go practice for the big show! Come by the beach later tonight, me and my band are having a fiesta!" Amigo waved, then ran off.

"...Remember when you were talking about how we might be in a piece of really bad fanfiction?" Sonic asked me.

"Yeah." I said.

"Do these sort of conveniences usually happen?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah, and they usually introduce every fun aspect of the character's world, like the hoverboarding. Not to mention, they seem to introduce a familiar character in every place they go t-"

"Sonic!" A different voice called out from behind us. We turned again to see a green hawk running up to us, carrying a green piece of machinery under his arm. Me and Sonic looked at each other, then looked up.

"Do you think someone's out there, reading us right now?" I asked, sounding a bit concerned.

"I'm starting to wonder..." Sonic said quietly.

"...What are they doing?" Jet asked Knuckles.

"Don't know. Really don't care." Knuckles replied, shaking his head.

"...Sonic?" Jet waved a hand over Sonic's face.

"Wha? Oh, sorry Jet, hi." Sonic said, still sounding a bit dazed, but focusing his attention on Jet. He tapped Josh, who snapped out of his trance as well.

"...Uh...you guys here for the race too?" Jet asked, trying to break the awkward moment.

"Yeah, we are. The grand prize is a Chaos Emerald, which we need." Sonic said.

"You guys on a team?" Jet pointed to Sonic, Knuckles and Me.

"Oh no, not me, I don't know how to hoverboard." I said, shaking my head. Jet cocked his head.

"Who are you exactly?" He asked.

"I'm Josh. Josh the Hedgehog. I'm Sonic's adopted brother." I said, smiling and giving a friendly nod.

"You adopted?" Jet looked at Sonic. Sonic nodded and put an arm around me. I smiled a bit wider.

"Well, you need three to race. So unless you can find someone else to race with you, you can't compete." Jet said. He walked off. "Good luck!" He called out from behind him.

"...You can't hoverboard?" Knuckles looked at me.

"We don't have those where I'm from... well, not yet." I replied. "I never even learned how to ride a skateboard."

"Jet's right, if you can't race, we can't compete." Sonic said, looking at me. "I hope you're a fast learner."

"I hope too..." I replied quietly.

…...

"See anything you like bud?" Sonic asked, taking a look at a board in a display case.

"Nothing yet..." I replied, lightly touching boards on the wall as I passed by them. There was a rather large hoverboard shop a few blocks from where we were previously, so, after some directions, we stopped inside. "Is there a difference in performance?" I asked the store clerk, a raccoon by the looks of him.

"Yeah, you can see the stats on the little sign under each board." He replied. I looked down at the sign. It might as well have been written in Yiddish, I could barely understand what half the crap said!

"...What's 'Turbovelocity?'" I asked. Sonic stepped over.

"Just look for these three numbers to be high." He said, pointing to three stats. "This one is for handling, this one is for speed, and this one is for acceleration. The rest you can leave to me."

"Thanks Sonic." I replied, looking at each board. My eyes fell on one in the corner, a white board decorated to look like a piano keyboard. I instantly fell in love with it. I walked over and checked the stats. "What about this one, they seem pretty high!" I said, calling Sonic over. Sonic took a look, and slowly nodded.

"Not bad..." He said, thinking. "...How well can you balance?" I shrugged. "You may have a bit of a hard time staying on when you first learn, and it's a bit lacking in top speed, but I think this one'll be fine to start out with." Sonic pointed at the board, and the store clerk pulled it down.

"That's 2,210 Rings please." He said, crossing over to the register and pressing a few buttons. Sonic whipped out his cash card.

"Wait, I got this one!" I said, cutting in front of him and giving the clerk my own card. He took it and scanned it, deducting the rings from my account.

"Have a great day!" The clerk said, handing me the board.

"Thanks!" I said, taking it. It felt a bit heavy in my hands, but not as heavy as I thought it would. Me and Sonic walked outside, where Knuckles was waiting for us.

"What'd you get?" Knuckles asked. I held up the board. He nodded in approval. "Looks like you might have trouble balancing on it."

"He can do it." Sonic said, clapping me on the shoulder and smiling.

"If you're teaching me." I added, laughing a bit. Sonic shook his head.

"You gotta be confident if you're going to do this." Sonic told me. "If you don't think you can do it, then you won't, got it?" I nodded. Sonic patted my shoulder. "Come on, let's get going. You have a lot to learn."

…...

A small row of T.V. Screens along a blank wall caught my eye. None of them were on at the time, but there was a slot for our cash cards to go in to, as well as a bunch of buttons along the bottom.

"Sonic, what the heck is that?" I asked, pointing.

"Pay-Coms." Sonic replied. "Their like normal Coms, but you have to pay money to use them."

"And Coms are?" I asked, still not sure what he was talking about, though I had a good idea.

"'Com' is short for Telecommunicators. You use them to talk to other people, no matter where you are." Knuckles explained.

"So, like a Phone!" I said, understanding. "Well, minus the T.V. Screen."

"Exactly." Sonic replied. My thoughts turned to Amy and Tails.

"Do you know the number to the base?" I asked, walking over.

"Base? Uh... yeah, I think so..." Sonic said. "Um, 555-648557-6." I slid my card into the machine and punched in the numbers. The screen came to life, flashing the word "Calling" over and over again. Finally, the image changed to that of Amy, standing in the kitchen. She squealed.

"Josh!" She exclaimed. "Oh, it's so good to see you, I was getting worried!"

"Hey Amy!" I said back, waving.

"Hold on, let me go get Tails!" She said, dashing off.

"Feeling homesick?" Knuckles asked.

"Just checking in." I replied. "I don't want her to be worried." She quickly came back on screen with Tails in tow.

"Hey Josh!" Tails chimed, waving. "How are you guys doing?" I held up my ring.

"Three down, four to go!" I said happily.

"Is Sonic there?" Amy asked, trying to look behind me.

"Uh..." I stammered. I looked at Sonic out of the corner of my eye. He was furiously shaking his head no. "He's getting us lunch right now. Chili dogs again I'm guessing." Amy looked disheartened.

"Is that all he's been getting for you?" Tails asked, not sounding too surprised.

"No. I gotta admit, I'm starting to like them though." I said, nodding a bit. "What's new on your end?"

"We've been reading the gossip." Tails said, sounding a bit bitter. Amy held up a magazine, with the headline reading "Sonic saving endangered species!"

"I can't believe they think you're just some stupid animal!" Amy said, showing another. "Animal bonding with local hero!" It showed a picture of me hugging Sonic.

"Where are they getting the pictures?" I asked in shock.

"Who cares! I've been writing to all of the magazines I can, trying to tell them that you're a human, but they won't listen!" Amy said, frustrated.

"It's fine, no one's been bothering me about it." I said, sounding a bit defeated. I quickly changed the subject. "Anything _good_ happening?"

"No, nothing yet." Amy sighed.

"I got the Tornado fixed." Tails shrugged. "Not much else. What about you?" I smiled and pulled my adoption slip out of my back pocket.

"What's that?" Amy asked, squinting.

"Read it!" I urged. Amy and Tails went quiet for a moment as they began reading. They both went wide-eyed at about the same time.

"No way!" Amy said excitedly, a smile creeping onto her face.

"Sonic _adopted_ you?!" Tails asked, sounding excited.

"You aren't jealous, are you?" I asked concerned.

"Are you kidding? That's awesome news!" Tails practically yelled, causing the speakers to pop and crackle. Amy couldn't stop reading the paper, as she laughed a bit.

"Josh the Hedgehog..." Amy said quietly.

"I think it fits!" Tails said. "It's like you were born to have that name!"

"Thanks guys!" I said. I looked at Amy, who was crying a bit. "You okay Amy?"

"Yeah!" Amy sniffled a bit. "I'm just happy for you right now!"

"There's more, Blaze is adopting Jacob now too!" I said. "Someone will be taking good care of him."

"That must take a load off your shoulders." Amy said, wiping her eyes.

"You have no idea." I said, laughing and shaking my head. A small warning message popped up, telling me I was almost out of time. "Er, sorry guys, I have to go, I'm running out of time on this thing!"

"Okay, be careful!" Amy said, waving.

"Have fun!" Tails exclaimed.

"Bye!" I said, pressing the end call button. "...Sonic, she's gone."

"Why are you so afraid of her?" Knuckles asked, shaking his head. Sonic just shuddered.

…...

"Lean forward a bit Josh!" Knuckles called out as I struggled to maintain my balance on the hoverboard. I brought my head down a bit, which seemed to help stop the constant shaking on the board.

"That's it, now just hold it like that!" Sonic said, walking over towards me. The hoverboard had been set so that it was only an inch off the ground, which, due to my shortened height, was a lot higher than it was on Earth. I still had a long ways to go before I could ride it up at its full height of two feet. Sonic adjusted a small dial on the side of the board, increasing the thrust coming out of the many air holes scattered across the bottom of the board. I slowly began to rise into the air, my arms pinwheeling as I struggled to maintain my center of balance. The board got maybe a foot off the ground before I lost it. I fell backwards into Sonic's arms. He stood me up.

"What am I doing wrong?" I asked, looking at Sonic helplessly.

"It just takes practice." Sonic replied. "You're doing good for a first-timer!"

"You're picking this up really well!" Knuckles chimed in, trying to offer encouragement. I smiled and turned back to the board, turning off the air. The board gently lowered to the ground. I stood back on it and pressed a button on the back of the board with my foot. The board began to rise into the air again.

"Stay forward buddy, you got it!" Sonic said. The board reached a foot off the ground again. I felt more confident as I realized I was still on!

"Higher!" I called out. Sonic leaned down a bit and dialed up the board a bit more. The board slowly began to rise, stopping at just about Sonic's shoulders.

"That's it!" Sonic whooped. "Two feet!" I pumped my fist in the air. Unfortunately, that knocked me off balance, causing me to lean towards the nose of the board. To my horror, it began to speed forward.

"Sonic!" I yelled as I struggled to stay on the board. Sonic ran up alongside me! "Shut it off!" I yelled in desperation. Sonic laughed and shook his head.

"No, look, you're doing awesome!" Sonic pointed forward. I looked forward to see what he saw, but nothing was there.

"What am I supposed to be looking at?" I called out, squinting. There was no answer. I turned again to see Sonic had stopped running beside me! I panicked and began to lose balance again.

"Josh, relax!" Sonic's voice came from the other side of me. I turned to see Sonic riding his own board. "Just face forward! You'll have better balance that way!" I nodded and looked forward. The board immediately stopped violently jerking, replaced by a gently swaying as my body naturally began to balance itself. I laughed! I was doing it!

"Sonic, I'm hoverboarding!" I called out. I held out my arms, sticking them both out for balance, like how you'd see a surfer balance on their board.

"Try turning a bit!" Sonic called out to me. "Lean in the direction you want to go!" I nodded, and slowly leaned away from Sonic. The board tilted slightly, as I began to turn left. My feet stayed planted on the board, much to my relief. I began to lean back and forth, making small S shapes in the air. I dared to look behind me. I was leaving a small tornado of sand as I turned, the air stirring up the small brown grains. I giggled gleefully.

"This is awesome!" I said, looking at Sonic. He smiled broadly at me.

"You're a natural!" He replied.

"...How do you stop?" I suddenly asked, realizing I would have to get down eventually.

"Lean towards the back of the board." Sonic explained. He demonstrated, the nose of his board rising into the air as he quickly fell behind me. I nodded and leaned back. The nose of the board rose much more than I had expected, dumping me off the board. I fell into the sand with a thud. Sonic ran up to me, board in hand. "You okay?" He asked, helping me up.

"Peachy." I replied, dusting myself off. "I gotta work on stopping a bit." I said. Sonic chuckled.

"You're doing great! Tomorrow, that race is in the bag!" Sonic said, giving me a thumbs up. I smiled.

"Only because I had a great teacher." I said. I hugged Sonic. "Thank you."

"No problem buddy." Sonic replied. He hugged me back, before messing up my hair. "Let's head back."

"Wait!" I said. I lowered my board and climbed on. "Let's ride back!" I exclaimed. Sonic jumped on his board.

"Race ya!" He said, looking behind his shoulder at me. I quickly started my board and began to take off.

…...

"...And remember to keep your toes forward, okay?" Sonic asked as the three of us walked down the night street to find a hotel.

"Toes forward, got it." I nodded, making a mental note.

"Sonic... what's going on over there?" Knuckles asked curiously, pointing across the street. A large crowd had formed, many of them consisting of photographers. Sonic pulled me behind him a bit.

"If they start coming towards us, run." Sonic told me quietly. I nodded. Knuckles and Sonic began to walk forward.

"Stay here." Knuckles said, turning to look at me. I nodded, and scooted back a bit so I could step into a shadowy awning. Sonic and Knuckles began to push their way into the crowd a bit, much to the press and media's delight. They began snapping even more photos, and I heard many questions involving the word "animal" directed to Sonic. The crowd began to move, as, I assumed, their points of interest began to move. The ground stopped moving as two impressive looking body guards, both of the gorillas, stepped out of the crowd and began to hold them back. Three figures stepped out between the body guards: Sonic, Knuckles, and one more person that I didn't recognize. He looked a bit like a hawk, but his beak wasn't as sharp, and he didn't have the same feathers. He looked to be a bit young, a little older than me maybe. Sonic and Knuckles seemed to be eager to hold a conversation with him. Sonic turned to look at the crowd, then looked at me, then back at the crowd. He waited for just a few more seconds, making sure they weren't looking, before he quickly ran over, scooped me up into his arms, and ran down the street, out of the way of the flashing mob. He set me down.

"Who's your friend?" I asked Sonic.

"He's not really a friend." He replied, seeming a bit star-struck. "He's one of _the_ best hoverboarders in the world!"


End file.
